Predator Gothic
by gothicjedi666
Summary: This time I get trained by the deadliest hunters in science fiction before being unleashed upon the multi-verse.
1. Chapter 1

****Author Note****

Judging by the lack of encouragement for the sample chapters for this story I don't think anyone really wanted me to write it, but screw it. I want to write this story and if you don't like well tough, you have no right to complain since its not like I'm charging you for anything. **  
**

****Predator Gothic****

 ** **Part 1****

 **Mother Ship. Aliens Verses Predator Verse.**

For a guy who'd been abducted, possibly by aliens, I was doing rather well. A little too well really, I should be totally freaking out after walking up in what looked to me like an infirmary/torture chamber inside a flying saucer. To make matters worse it was a badly lit and unclean chamber.

I didn't know for sure if I was a space, but I suspected it, I had a gut feeling. Sure this could be a room in an underground lab of some sort, however I'd been underground before, in caves and such, and this felt different. I just somehow knew I was no longer on Earth. Maybe something to do with the gravity?

Perhaps it was the lack of little grey men with anal probes, that prevented me from panicking, or more likely it had something to do with the faintly greenish-yellow chemical that was being pumped into my body. They, whoever they were, could be sedating me, yet I didn't feel that groggy.

Since I no desire to be drugged I removed the large needle from my arm, and then I inspected the hole left behind, I wasn't leaking much, just a little blood, not a big deal, not that much worse than getting an injection. No the real concern here was had been put into my body, not what was getting out.

I knew it was drugs of some sort because I wasn't at all scared, in fact I felt good, I had loads of energy, I wanted to run or something. Which was more worrying than it seemed as it might mean I'd been pumped full of steroids, or something even worse.

After a few moments of simply thinking I decided to be smart about this. I'd been captured, I would never volunteer for this kind of weird shit, and since I was a prisoner being held illegally it was my duty to escape. Then to report all of this to authorities, unless it was the government doing this, but I doubted it. If the government was going to grab people for experiments they wouldn't take people like me they'd take the homeless of the streets or they'd use people who had nothing left to lose, like prisoners under a life sentence.

Besides I still felt as if I was in space, and that aliens were behind all this, which meant reporting it to the authorities, should I somehow get back to Earth, might not be the brightest of ideas. Best case they'd think I was crazy and totally ignore me, worse case they'd think me crazy and lock me up in a padded cell.

Soon I began thinking again, focusing on what was going on, rather than what could happen in a future yet decided. I was trying to remember any book or movie that might help me out in this situation. Real life having failed to prepare me for this odd event.

Alas nothing came to mind, and again this should have worried me, however while I was certainly concerned I was not feeling anything more intense than that. This was an odd experience for me. I was hardly the most emotional of people, but this was a fucked up situation. A lot of folks would be screaming for help by now and pounding on the walls.

Looking around I discovered that I was in a room with solid metal walls, and that aside from the bed thing I'd been lying on when I woke up along with medical equipment there wasn't anything else in the room.

Nothing to store anything in, no tools to aid in my escape, nothing I could use as a weapon against whomever it was who'd locked me up. No food or water, nor anything for my waste. This couldn't be a proper cell, maybe it wasn't meant to be. Perhaps this was just some place I'd been left in while the chemicals did their work.

One wall while made of metal was not like the others, it was more like part of a cage, however there was no door, or any means of exiting this room. Which supported the whole prisoner idea.

Lacking anything else to do I patted myself down, hoping to find something in my pockets that would help, although I doubted my phone would get a signal if I was in outer space. Sadly my pockets were empty.

While I was dressed in my own clothing, and it felt as if I'd been wearing the stuff for days, I didn't feel the need to go take a piss, nor was I hungry. Which was odd. How long had I been here?

What was even stranger was that I'd lost weight. I also wasn't sweating despite the fact that someone had turned the heating up here. Yet as I felt around I couldn't locate the source of the heat, there were no vents as far as I was able to tell.

My explorations, as limited as they were, came to a sudden end when I heard a clicking noise, it was oddly familiar and it sent a shiver up spine. I felt a twinge of fear, but it passed by very quickly, so quickly that I wasn't sure if it had happened at all.

I then heard more clicking, and this time when I turned around there was something standing on the other side of the cage wall. A large something too, I might add.

The thing was human in shape, and it had extremely broad shoulders. If I had to guess the max height of the being, it was maybe seven and a half to eight feet tall. Maybe even a bit taller than that.

It was wearing some sort of armour, but the armour didn't cover everything, and under that there was some material that reminded me of fish nets, only it didn't look quite like that, but it was the best comparison I could make. It also had on what I could only see as a loincloth, which was made of some kind of fur.

The expressionless mask on its face was what worried me the most. That and the skin colour as well as its texture, which judging by from what I could see looked more like that of reptile than of a man's.

Now I was no racist, but people shouldn't have that kind of skin, not unless they had some funky disease, or were in fact some form of reptile aliens. I suspected the later was the case here as this figure did not seem to be in bad health. In fact it seemed very robust.

What passed for hair on this creature, wasn't actually hair, even in this low light I could tell that this alien life form had tendrils sticking out of the back of its head, but they some what looked liked hair kept in dreadlocks.

Once I had taken the whole sight in, this was when I came to understand what exactly it was that I was looking at. The alien before me was a Yautja, a Predator. A member of a fictional alien race!

From what I knew, having see the movies and having read some books as well as the comic books, that featured these creature, the Yautja were a sentient, humanoid race of hunters that possessed a level of technological advancement far in excess of anything available on my world.

For reasons of their own, the Predators went about stalking and killing their prey using a combination of highly advanced technology, such as active camouflage and energy weapons, combined with traditional ancient weapons, such as blades, spears and nets. Also I knew that The Predators often ritualistically mutilated their victims and sometimes even claimed a trophy from their kills.

Despite what many would call barbaric behaviour these strange aliens were far from primitive. They were capable of interstellar travel in star ships, and had been for some time, as the Predators were known to have hunted on Earth for centuries. Even having influenced early human societies.

On a scary note they have been known to deliberately breed Xenomorphs in order to hunt them, often as part of initiation rituals for young Predators. Which was nuts in my view.

The sound of a door opening brought my attention back to the present, and I saw another Predator emerge from the darkness beyond the cage like wall of my cell.

This one was shorter than the other, and slightly different in colouring, he also wore more armour. After a few moments the two predators greeted each other with a hand gesture, and then started talking in clicks and growls that made no sense to me.

Not knowing what they were talking about or what they wanted started to get my nerves. I knew I should be scared, and I certainly didn't want to piss them off, but I had to know what was going on.

"Can someone please tell me why I am here?" I requested.

The conversation stopped and I immediately clamped my mouth shut. My current thinking was that they didn't want me talking right now, and that doing so had pissed them off. Which had not been my intention.

I actually backed up when the cage wall began to slide away, and I kept moving when the shorter of the two Yautja reached out. Only he, or it, or she, wasn't attacking, they were passing me something.

It was a mask, like those worn by the Yautja, only different. I figured that it had been modified for human use. The device was a dull silver or maybe grey in colour, it was hard to tell in this darkness, and it was surprisingly light weight given what it could do.

When the smaller alien mimicked putting on the mask, I did so. Unexpectedly it didn't not show me the world in terms of heat, it was like a form of night vision, but I could make out all the details. The colours were somewhat muted compared to what I was used to, but I could make them out.

"Ooman, you are Un-Blooded Apprentice" I heard one of the Predators say "I will teach you, make you Blooded warrior, if you survive".

The Yautja hadn't actually said those words, but that was what I heard. Some sort of translation device built into the mask I assumed. Given their advanced level of technology a universal translator of sorts seemed well with their capabilities. They didn't use them on hunts while on Earth, but perhaps they didn't see the need.

"Survive?" I asked, as if I didn't already know.

No one answered me, no one spoke at all for a while, and this gave me time to realise that I could now see the details of the world around me more clearly, I was adapting to this new way of seeing.

I was able to tell that the taller Predator had grey dreadlocks, a sign of being older perhaps? So the smaller one, which had darker dreadlocks could be younger. However I was only guessing.

"Well, Un-Blooded, what is your name?" the larger Predator wished to know.

I didn't answer this question, the smaller alien did.

"We were told it was Gothic" replied the smaller one.

That wasn't my name, but there was no sense in arguing over it with the big scary Xenos.

"Goat-sick"

Those words had come from the older of the two alien

"Goth-ik" corrected the smaller alien.

"Gothick" tried the bigger alien.

This went on for a while, but they got it right in the end. Not that this helped me to understand why these aliens had named me after a style of architecture prevalent in western Europe between the 12th–16th centuries.

"You are Gothic, Unblooded" said the taller alien "I am your teacher. You will obey me, and train hard, if you do then you will stay alive".

Well that easy to follow at least. Plus now at least I knew what was going to happen to me, I just didn't know why this was happening or how it had started. I'd have to enquire about that, but maybe it would be best to wait until I knew if they liked me or not.

"Fair enough," I said "Then what happens later?".

Assuming I lived.

"Then, ooman," the bigger alien said. "You shall hunt for honour".

So I was going to be trained as a Predator and then unleashed to hunt down prey. I had mixed feelings about this.

(Line Break)

 **Mother Ship. Aliens Vs Predator Verse.**

I'd been guided to what could be called a bedroom, but really it was more of a cell just like the last room I'd been in. It was too plain to be considered a living space, but it was private and I had my own en-suite bathroom that was hidden behind a heavy looking metal door.

This room was also behind a big metal door I wasn't sure if all of this was for my safety, or because the aliens simply didn't want to look at me too much. If it was the later then the feeling was mutual, these hunters were impressive, but not the most attractive of humanoid races in or out of what I considered to be science fiction.

At least the solitude gave me time to think, and I had plenty to think about. I was going to be trained as a space hunter for lack of a better term. Assuming I passed the training, which seemed doubtful since I was a squishy human, then I'd have to hunt people.

This didn't sit well with me, but still I'd rather hunt crooks on Earth like in the second Predator movie, than tackle Xenomorphs, the stuff of my childhood nightmares ever since a certain parent had let me watch Alien at far too tender an age.

As for the hunting, I didn't think there was a way out of that, not while alive anyway, as Yautja culture centred on the ritualistic hunting of other lifeforms, and this practice appeared to be the foundation of their very society. In fact if the Spartan nature of my room was anything to go buy they didn't care for much of anything else.

Thinking about it made me remember that Predators will travel huge distances, hundred of light years of space at least, in order to hunt whatever species they consider a worthy challenge, and may also kidnap and transport prey across similar distances so as to bring such victims to a hunting ground of their choosing just like in one of the movies.

Which meant their space travel technology must involve faster than light engines of some sort as well staggering amounts of energy production. That was something cool at least, maybe I could learn about it. I doubted I'd understand more than the basics, but I was curious about it.

Just like before my trail of thought ended and I was snapped back to reality by a noise coming from an alien mouth.

"What do you want" I asked.

It was the taller warrior, he'd entered my room without me even noticing, he, she, or it, had some some impressive skills of stealth.

"Do not address me in such a way" the Yautja said "You will address me as master, or teacher, maybe in time as mentor, is this understood?".

I nodded.

"Yes, teacher" I replied.

I kept my tone polite so as not to offend the eight foot tall armoured killing machine, which was always wise. He seemed even taller now, he loomed over despite there being a couple of meters between us.

"Follow me, Un-Blooded, so we can begin your training" instructed my teacher "You must learn to fight for honour".

That was when a thought struck me

"Whose honour. Mine or yours?" I asked.

Surely the student's performance would reflect upon the teacher.

"Both," my new master said "Now get up lazy ooman, and follow me."

I stood up, after getting up on the human style bed, which seemed to be the one thing in the room that had been added for my comfort, and followed my teacher. We walked through the swirling mist in the hallways which reminded me of dry ice, only it smelled a bit different, and finally into a room that looked like a training area.

Aside from having clearer air, this place had weapons lined up along the walls and in the middle of the room was a matt that was a circle in shape and about forty feet in diameter I guessed,

"What is this place, sir?" I asked.

While the alien wore its mask, I could tell it was confused.

"What is 'sir'?" it asked.

The way the Predator pronounced the word 'sir' made me think it wasn't a translation, that it had actually spoke in English. Which was something they could do, but given the shape of their mouths I didn't think it would be easy.

"It is used as term of respect from where I come from, a student will often refer to their teacher as a sir" I answered.

My mentor nodded. A surprisingly human gesture.

"I will accept you calling me sir" the predator said.

It then paused.

"When you fight it will be in armour" the alien told me.

Well I should hope so.

"Will it look like yours?" I asked.

The Predator nodded.

"For now you will train without armour and weapons" the teacher said "Defend yourself".

That was when a fist met my face and everything went black.

(Line Break)

 **Alien Planet. AVP Universe.**

Space. To Mankind it was known as the final frontier, out here was a galaxy filled with many new worlds, some lifeless, others with their own thriving ecosystems. Ripe for colonisation, ready for exploration, a realm of adventure just waiting for brave men and woman.

Well that was the idea. As it turned out the galaxy is full of nightmares creatures such as the Xenomorphs, a race that bring destruction and death wherever they go.

The Queens of the species laid large eggs, each of which contained what are called 'Facehuggers', after hatching the Facehuggers forcibly implant an embryo into another living creature that will house the embryo until it violently bursts from the chest cavity, killing the host and also releasing a near perfect killer. Reproduction via rape and murder, lovely.

Then there are the Predators. An advanced race of seven or eight foot tall bipedal humanoids, who seem somewhat akin to reptiles. Not only are they physically imposing, but their mastery of Faster Than Light technology (FTL) allowed them to travel the greatest of distances with ease.

Their physical might along with their advanced weapons made the Predators one of the few things equally as terrifying as the Xenomorphs. They were much stronger than humans. They are also skilled climbers, and could readily move through trees or across rooftops in pursuit of prey.

Though capable of surviving exposure in Antarctic temperatures for an extended period of time, Predators have a preference for hot equatorial climates. This along with conflict was known to draw in these hunters.

What really made the Predators (the Yautja) different from the Xenomorphs wasn't their technology, or their biology, it was the code of honour that prevented them from being more than killing machines.

As long as the Yautja followed their code, they'd be considered honourable members of society. Some however either strayed from the code or intentionally broke it, they are deemed 'Bad Bloods' and were usually dealt with swiftly.

The Yautja lived in clans, as I'd come to understand. These groups seem to be somewhat familial with clear hierarchical structure and leaders, each of these clans seemed to have some distinct technology and customs, but as of yet I didn't know enough to certain about that.

The reason any of this mattered to me was that right now I was on an alien planet and I was in the care of a Predator. How I'd ended up with a fictional alien race was a total mystery. I had no idea how I'd gotten to this scary universe and the Yautja I was with wasn't talking about it.

At least I knew that I wasn't going to be hunted for sport. I was being treated as an Apprentice. Apparently it wasn't unheard of for humans to be taken in by Predators in order to learn their ways.

They'd even equipped me. Most of what I wore was either human made, or of human design, having been copied by the Predators and made of superior materials if I was any judge, at least on the lower half on my body.

I wore good solid boots, and trousers that seemed that were made from a flexible and sturdy fabric that I couldn't identify. Further up things changed, I wore what I could only describe as a mesh top, partly transparent, but it was strong stuff and I didn't feel at all exposed in it.

Yautja wore armour for protection during hunts, when battling against prey. Most Predators wore armour plates covering their knees, shoulders, hips, chest, thighs and other certain parts of the body. It was unknown to me why the Yautja didn't wear a full set of body armour, but I guessed that a reason could be in fact that wearing a full set of armour would be less honourable. It didn't seem to limit movement, and unless female Yuatja were watching their seemed no other reason for the males show off parts of the body. I couldn't even be sure that my teacher was a male.

I was wearing some armour, stuff that covered my shoulders, hips, chest, and thighs, I was willing to bet that I looked a little foolish in the stuff, but I was too smart not to wear all the protection I could while on an alien planet.

The armour didn't weigh much, and it didn't limit my agility once I'd gotten use to it, so I couldn't blame it for the current problem I was having, which was climbing a tree. Part of my problem was my fear of heights, which was more of a concern of heights these days, but mostly it was the lack of any low hanging branches. You'd think that someone who had apes for ancestors could manage this simple task.

"I've seen better tree climbers that don't even have limbs" said a voice.

Those words had come from the Predator who had upon meeting informed me that he was in charge of my training. When we'd first met I'd been on board his clan's ship, which was massive space going vessel.

My new mentor had so far been patient and wise, only having knocked me out the one time during training. Since then he'd spent, what could have been weeks or even months, it was impossible to tell when you lived in space, how to fight.

Well actually it was more that he'd been teaching me how to avoid getting hit. He'd also taught how to use some weapons, but most of what he'd done simply involved physical training. Very recently, as in days ago, he'd brought me to this world, which was a lot like Earth, and only now had he started teaching me how to hunt.

My mentor, he hadn't given me his name, hadn't actually spoken those words, he'd growled and clicked at me, however the helmet I wore, which was a different shape and size than the ones worn by the Predators, translated for me, allowing me to hear Yautja words in English. I assumed that my teacher had something similar going on his helmet as he nearly always understood me. Sometimes it was as if he didn't but I was sure that he simply chose not to reply at times.

"Well thanks" I sarcastically commented.

It made sense that the Yautja didn't sugar coat things given how they lived their lives, but humans had a habit of doing so. I'd have to adjust to that like I had so many things.

"A true Hunter takes advantage of all his surroundings, the trees above you can serve as platforms, that will allow you to get a lay of the land. Right now you can't use them, you can barely climb them. To become a great Hunter, you need to climb these trees" I was now being told.

The alien then removed two items from the pouch he had on his belt.

"I thought that something like this might happen" the Predator was now saying "so before we left I had made something that might help you".

The items were then passed to me.

"Try these on" I was instructed.

I studied the items, they somewhat had the appearance of gloves, but upon closer inspection I realised they were more like gauntlets. They lacked any kind of armour plating, but still looked rather deadly.

"They're like your claws" I realised.

I had put them on before anything else was said.

"They will help you climb" my mentor was now saying "You can't get any worse".

Then the Yautja looked around, scanning the world around us for something.

"There" the alien said while pointing to a wide and very tall tree.

The bark of the massive planet was very dark shade of brown and the trunk looked pretty thick. Also it had no low hanging branches. A human like me wouldn't climb up the truck of a tree, we would move from branch to branch, however here that just wasn't possible.

"You want me to climb that?" I wondered.

A stupid question really.

"Of course I want you to climb it" said the Predator as it crossed its arms over its massive chest "Now climb".

Which I did, because disobeying a heavily armed warrior seemed like a really bad idea. He had an energy weapon on his shoulder, and I got the sense he'd happily shoot me if I annoyed him enough. With that in mind I did my best to climb the damn tree.


	2. Chapter 2

******Predator Gothic******

 ** ** **Part 2******

 **Alien Planet. AVP Verse.**

For unexplained reasons, which were common in my life these days, my mentor had brought me to a cave of all things. At first I'd thought this was going to be a lesson on hunting underground, or about trapping a beast in its lair, as it turned out I'd been totally wrong.

My mentor had brought me here to see a cave painting of all things. One that depicted a group of four armed humanoids, the natives whom we'd so far avoided, and they looked to be worshipping tall human like creatures, but I was sure they weren't actually humans.

I was pretty sure that these were Engineers, members of ancient extraterrestrial species of unknown origin. They possessed some of the most advanced technology in this entire universe, if not the most advanced, with special emphasis being placed on their skills in genetic engineering, must be so given how many worlds they'd seeded.

Judging by the artwork these Engineers were believed by the locals to have been beneficent Creators of sorts. At some points humans had done the same I was sure as there was similar cave painting seen in that confusing movie I wanted to forget about.

Which made me wonder what humanity had done to be signalled out for destruction by the Engineers. What I knew about the four armed natives they were just as warlike as my people, only they were more primitive than humans having only basic metal weapons and tools to work with.

I knew that for not totally understood reasons the Engineers were not friendly towards humans, and I doubted they liked the Predators much either. My mentor confirmed this when he showed me a star system, which had been crudely displayed. The cave painting seemed to try to serve as a map to somewhere, and he growled while pointing at the star formation.

"Never go there" my teacher instructed.

I nodded.

"Yes, sir" I said.

This wouldn't be an issue for me. I had no reason to seek out the Engineers. I had enough to worry about with just knowing that there were Xenomorphs out there, and then there were the Predators, they might have adopted me into their clan, but that didn't mean they wouldn't kill me if it suited them, perhaps just for fun. Least of all I couldn't forget the humans, if I was now some Yuatja-human mixture then that would be of interest to the kind of people who liked to study alien biology in the most unethical ways possible. Honestly it was hard to which species was the worst.

(Line Break)

 **Alien Planet. AVP Universe.**

From what my mentor had told me this world, unlike the last one we'd visited, had no sentient inhabiting it. This planet was used as a hunting world, for the training of young hunters by the clan I'd been adopted into, as such in terms of prey there nothing too challenging here, at least nothing more dangerous than could be encountered on Earth.

The last planet we'd been on did have dangerous thinking creatures living on it, as well as some nasty beasts, but we'd avoided them by staying in a remote area. On that world my training had been about learning the basics of the hunt, such as how to use my environment, like how trees could make good platforms for scoping out a target.

I was currently up in a tree, a big one, with long sturdy branches that spread out to interlock with the branches of other trees. This allowed my teacher, who was up here with me, and I to see a lot of what was going on. Due to dense foliage I had use a different form of vision than I was used to, but I could still get a good level of detail.

For example I could see that my mentor's armour was more functional and less ornate than other sets I'd seen while still on what I called the Clan Ship. In the past I'd seem him in armour that favoured form over function somewhat, and while I didn't know for sure I suspected he wore that to display his rank.

Currently my teacher's left arm was encased in full plate armour while his right arm only had the standard Yautja wrist gauntlet. His chest was covered in some sort of segmented light plate armour that most of the hunters wore, and like me it had that weave mesh material covering its exposed areas.

At it left hip the Predator carried what I guessed to be one of those telescoping staffs, he also carried a curved dagger on its belt, on the Hunter's right shoulder was a folded up plasma caster.

All of my mentor's gear was weathered and worn, but still in prime working condition. I guessed that he preferred functionality over flashy designs. A practical outlook that I could respect.

"Sir, what are we doing here?" I asked.

Yautja, at least this Yautja, weren't ones for small talk. My mentor didn't do idle chatter. We discussed very little other than what mattered to my lessons, as such I had no idea why we'd moved away from the ship to this part of the jungle.

"Getting dinner" he/she or it replied

My mentor seemed male to me, but I couldn't be sure. I'd go with male.

"Great, I'm starving" I said.

My teacher hadn't eaten or drunk anything since we'd arrived, at least not that I'd seen. While I had been supplied with water and some sort of food wafers, I really wouldn't mind eating a proper meal.

Plus I was a little suspect of the rations, I was quickly growing even stronger than I'd been before, but while that might just be the intense training I was going through, it was also possible they might be feeding me some form of alien steroids.

Not that I felt drugged up, but then hadn't back when I'd been on the mother ship getting some green shit pumped into me, and I was pretty that they had something to me given how much stronger and tougher I felt these days.

Unless I went up to a human and started fighting them I had no idea just how I measured up to the rest of my species, but I was certain that baring side effects, that I was far stronger and healthier than I'd been before. Also I suspected that my senses were if not enhanced then at least sharper than they'd ever been.

"Good, because you are hunting our dinner" my teacher told me.

This was unexpected.

"Wait what?!" I exclaimed.

I had no idea what to hunt or where. Then there was the fact that anything on this planet that I killed might be toxic to me. This was an alien bio-sphere after all, and even on Earth there were plants and animals I couldn't consume.

"How can you become a great hunter if you don't learn to hunt" I was informed "Hunger is a great motivator".

This was too much too soon for me.

"You've got to be joking" I said, before quickly adding, "Sir".

While I guessed this must be some sort of test, that didn't mean it wasn't also real.

"I've never been one for joking" my teacher told me "Now if you wish to be a Hunter, then you had best get moving".

All I could do was sigh.

"I'm no hunter" I admitted.

Physical training was one thing, but I was in no way qualified to go out and kill our dinner.

"You lack claws, sharp canines, venom, great strength, or anything else that would make up the usual effective predator" my mentor reminded me "But your species intelligence and tool-using makes up for this. Cunning and guile will make you a Hunter".

That was as much encouragement as I was going to get it seemed so I decided to head out and see what I could find.

(Line Break)

 **Alien Planet. AVP Universe.**

So far things weren't going to baldy. I had armour on, and I even had weapons, I'd used my claw hands, to sharpen a sturdy piece of wood, making my own crude spear. Human hunters had killed with less.

I also had my helmet, which was special as it didn't just show me infra-red it allowed me see light as well as heat. It even provided night-vision, not that I needed right now as the world's sun, so much like the sun I knew, was high up in the sky.

While looking for something to eat, I'd found a clearing. The grassland in front of me was filled with a large herd of something that seemed at least somewhat cattle like to me. They seemed similar to Buffalo, only their curled horns belonged on a ram.

Unlike many other animal species the males were the larger, thanks to the helmet's ability to magnify I had been able to spot the females nursing their young as they grazed. The males of this species had taken spots all around the females and young, acting defensively. Which made me suspect that this species came under attack often by a local meat eater.

"They don't look to fast" I mused while further studying the animals.

Their legs didn't look very powerful, but they probably made up for it in strength and durability. My guess was that while a stampede of these creatures wouldn't be very fast, given their numbers and size anyone in their path would be trampled to death in short order if they didn't get of the way.

"So wish I had a plasma caster" I muttered to myself.

Which such a weapon I could simply blast one from a distance and let the rest do a runner, after that my biggest problem would be dragging the corpse back to the camp site.

We weren't staying on scout ship we'd arrived in as when hunting, Yautja liked to find a place to hole up to store their trophies, and to rest until the next opportunity to hunt arises, preferably somewhere away from any people. I assumed this was also to prevent anyone from locating the ship by tracking a Yautja to and from it.

Alas only Blooded hunters, those that had killed at least one Xenomorph were allowed the deadly weapon known as the plasma caster. I didn't even have a combi-stick, which only given given to any Hunter who'd survived basic training. That might be years away, or weeks. I just didn't know. Yautja didn't have time tables for this sort of thing.

"Maybe I should lure one away from the main group" I wondered out loud "the question is, which one?".

Herbivores weren't easy to lure away from their herds, besides they didn't seem smart enough to have a sense of curiosity, nor were passive like the cows back home. These creatures took measures to protect their young from some sort of predator, so a lone member of the herd was unlikely just go wandering off.

"Maybe if I made a bow" I mused.

That was when the bone chilling roar, that came from some sort of predator (not to be confused with a Predator aka "El Diablo que hace trofeos de los hombres) soon filled the air.

I watched as five quadrupedal reptilian creatures erupted from the tree line on the far side of the clearing, they soon began circling the herd, in the same way that wolves would circle a herd of deer, or how lions would circle grazing zebra.

These new creatures each had a hide of dark green reptilian scales, as well as spikes riding all the way from the tips of their snouts to the tips of their tails. Any other details I couldn't make out as they were too far away. I dubbed them lizard-wolves.

The reptiles roared and snarled at the herbivores, herding them like sheep into a closely knit ball, with the females and young at the centre. The male plant eaters started giving off roars of their own, stamping and kicking the dirt like a Bull would when ready to charge. The male herbivores were obviously dangerous, since the lizard-wolves seemed hesitant to move in on the herd.

When they did move the large herbivores began to stampede, by running around in a big circle around the young and females, as if they were on a race track, in effort creating a defence the lizard-wolves simply couldn't get around. Amazing.

I was fascinated by this display of nature on an alien planet, but I wasn't watching this from the safety of my home on a television. It was time to leave, I wasn't going to catch anything here.

"A pity. It seems we still have a long way to go" a voice said.

It was my mentor, but I couldn't see him, which meant he was invisible. Also while I couldn't detect it in his voice, as I got words not tones, I was sure he was disappointed in me. Perhaps not because I was backing away from the field, but because so far I'd failed to hunt anything.

"Are you sure I can do this? Won't me being a human get in the way of me becoming a hunter?" I had to ask.

It was a question that was constantly bouncing around inside my head, and I had many reasons to be concerned. My body was weak compared to that of a Predator's. I lacked the Yautja's natural endurance to damage. No amount of training could change that.

Sure my species were hunters too, but we were pack hunters, we worked best in small groups, and while we could fight with our hands if we had to, what we did best was stuff like ambushes, setting traps, and using tools to kill from a distance. The Yautja ways weren't our ways.

"Some of my greatest hunts involved humans" my teacher replied.

My mentor went on to explain that the Yautja hunted humans for sport, but that didn't mean they thought we were inferior, no exactly. Any human who has killed a Yautja or helped them is respected and sometimes awarded with an item, and on rare occasions allowed them into the clan. Humans proved a dangerous Hunt for the Predators. As to the reason why the Yautja use stealth tactics? They did as they knew attacking armed humans directly would be too dangerous.

"For now you will hunt with me" my teacher then said "Follow".

By switching my helmet to a different type of vision I was able to locate my mentor, and when he moved I did my best to keep up.

(Line Break)

 **Alien Planet. AVP Universe.**

Either days or weeks had passed, it was impossible to know since I had no way of measuring time and no way of knowing how long night and day lasted on this planet when compared to Earth. It could have been months, but it didn't feel that way. Then again I had no idea how long I'd been on that mother ship, it could have been years since I'd since I'd seen another human being.

At least the training was going well. I felt great, I hadn't had this much energy since I'd been a teenager. I was now doing pull ups on one of the branches of the tree about 30 feet in the air. My gauntlets enhanced my ability to grip, this combined with my increasing strength, was allowing me lift my own body weight with one arm. It also helped that I'd lost a lot of body fat.

My mentor was just watching me work out, his plasma caster looked ready to fire, and while I was mostly sure he (calling him it seemed wrong even though I was still fuzzy on the whole gender thing) wouldn't actually shoot me imagining that he would did wonders to keep me motivated.

"You need a trophy, something to remind you of the time of training" my mentor told me "It is time you learned how to kill".

Quickly I made my way down the tree, and once on the ground I noticed, and not for the first time, that we'd moved so far from the ship that the environment had changed.

I could have mistaken this for a European forest in the middle of summer. But of course, the wildlife present was different from the sort you would find back on dear old Earth.

Birds were very oddly coloured here, and something close to a snake with fins lived in the water and would sometimes grab at me if I got to close to the rivers. Thankfully their bites weren't strong enough to penetrate the material of my clothing and they weren't powerful enough to drag me under water. Also I was sure they weren't Goa'uld. Mostly due to the lack of Unas, plus this was the wrong science fiction setting.

In fact I hadn't seen anything on this part of the planet that looked dangerous to kill me. Nothing close to those lizard-wolves.

That was until my teacher and I got back up into the trees and I spotted a fellow predator on its own hunt. It was feline creature about the size of a grey hound dog, currently it was walking on all fours as it stalked a furry mammal about the size of a rabbit. Not there were rabbits here, but it was close enough.

I'd told my teacher about my desire for a bow, and he had provided one. I figured he was actually interested in seeing how a human would hunt. This proved to be easier than expected as I just shot the feline as soon as I had clear view of it.

"Well done. I can honestly say that I'm impressed" my teacher said.

Next we both climbed down to inspect me kill.

"Can we eat it?" I asked.

Humans didn't eat feline predators, such as tigers, but this thing only looked like a cat. For all I knew it could, and most likely did, taste like chicken.

"You didn't kill it for the meat" the hunter told me "The coat for fur clothing, the claws, the teeth, all would be fine trophies for a young hunter".

I had to remember that hunters, humans and otherwise, didn't just hunt for meat, they also hunted for hides, furs, trophies, even body parts that could be used to craft weapons. Although I didn't think the pelt of this creature would cover me much, it was a lean creature, not because it looked underfed, but because it was built for quick movement.

From what I'd been told each Yautja clan had its own rules about taking trophies. There were laws all clans followed, like the not killing the defenceless for sport, but each clan also its own customs about stuff.

Trophies meant for display in a trophy case were used to impress females during breeding season as it turned out, or at least in part, but they had to be from worthy foes, however decorative trophies worn on the body, didn't need to be from the more dangerous kinds of prey. They often only had sentimental value, or something like that, the Yautja weren't what I'd call sentimental.

Since I was human I wouldn't be expected to follow the customs exactly, I just had to obey the important rules, and I had no desire to impress any Yautja females, because even if they weren't so fucking ugly they'd rip me apart while mating. As such there was no issue with me taking trophies to impress the girls. Trophies for displaying could come later as it was also part of a Hunter's status within the clan.

There was also another reason to take trophies, and that was the creation of personalised weapons. Xenomorph parts were good for that, since they were acid proof and very tough. Humans parts not so much, but you could have human skull as a pommel on a sword, although that might mess with the weight and therefore balance of the weapon.

"Come here" instructed my mentor.

I watched as mentor took out a serrated knife, the gleaming steel was shining in the sunlight. To my surprise he handed the blade to me.

"Finish what you started" he said.

That was when I found out that the animal was not dead, my arrow had not taken its life even if it had disabled the creature. The feline made eye contact with me. My hands began to shake as the feline stared into my eyes, and I wasn't sure I could do this. Aside from swatting the odd bug I'd not killed much in my life.

"The first time is always the hardest" I heard my teacher say.

This was when the hunter reached out and clasping his scaled, clawed hands around my softer human hands.

"As a hunter, you must learn to take life" I was told "It is our duty to take lives to continue the cycle of life. We hunt not just for ourselves, it is so that others can improve, we hunt so others can evolve, it is one of the reasons my people hunt yours. The deaths of those before you have tempered your species to produce ones such as yourself, a true hunter".

The Predator guided my hands and drove the knife into the feline's skull, killing it quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

****Predator Gothic****

 ** **Part 3****

 **Xenomorph Hive. Alien Planet.**

The area was huge the biggest part of the underground network of tunnels I had so far seen, and I'd been here long enough to know that we must be directly under the pyramid by now, and I was sure that the other two Young Bloods currently with me were thinking along the same lines.

I'd trained for a short time with these two warriors before going on this hunt, but I'd never learned their real names. I called them Bulk and Skull, because one of them was the biggest Yautja I'd ever seen and the smaller, skinnier warrior really liked his skulls, he wore loads of them of all shapes and sizes. Also I suspected that they were kinda dumb, or at least foolishly overconfident, not unlike human teenagers.

Since I was fairly sure Bulk and Skull were going to die rather soon, because being overconfident or dumb in a Xenomorph hive were really bad things, I knew not to rely on them. Even more so since we'd already each killed a xenomorph already. And they'd been good kills, but it only made them even more prideful.

My kill had been quick and clean, as all my kills were, I'd used my Netgun, which was a small, hand-held device that fired a bundled net that rapidly expanded as it leaves the weapon's barrel. The net when fired travelled at great speed, the impact was capable of hurling a target across the room upon contact before pinning them to a nearby surface.

The metallic net itself also acted as a weapon, once wrapped around a target it will automatically tighten, carving into the flesh of anything caught inside, causing grievous if not outright fatal wounds. The net was essentially impossible to cut although Xenomorph blood as well Yautja weapons could destroy the net.

Once pinned, the prey was then an easy target. I'd killed the xenomorph with my combi-stick before its blood could dissolve the net, freeing it so it could kill me.

The combi-stick, which was what I'd spent much of my recent training time learning to use, was telescopic, making it relatively small and easy to store when not in use, but it could easily be extended to its full length when required in combat. It was made of incredibly light, yet strong material. It could be used both as a close-quarters hand-to-hand weapon and thrown like a spear. In an extreme case the spear part could actually be fired at something. It was also the one piece of equipment I had that was proof against xenomorph blood.

I'd driven the spear into the xenomorphs neck, or what passed for is neck, hopefully I hadn't damaged the skull, later I intended to claim that as a trophy. I could do within something on the walls of my room, bare walls could only be tolerated for so long.

Back then was when I'd become certain that I no longer felt true fear, oh I'd been worried about this Hunt, I was worried now, and the xenomorphs repulsed me physically, but I wasn't actually scared of them.

Whatever the Yautja had done to me, meant that I no longer felt some things like a normal human. Of late I had more blood lust too, no not blood lust. More like thrill seeking than anything else.

I felt the urge to hunt, like my ancestors would have done. This might explain my choice of weapons, during my training I'd been drawn to use the bow and the spear.

In times past Welsh warriors usually preferred either the longbow or the spear as their weapon of choice, and, to put it broadly, the best spear men came from North Wales, and the best longbowmen from South Wales.

As a matter of fact I'd been born just outside of Cardiff and my bow was my weapon of choice. Of course I wasn't using it now as even a bow made of advanced materials wouldn't help me much in a xenomorph hive.

Perhaps a fancy kantana would have looked cooler, or maybe a shortsword would be just as practical, and a fully loaded assault rifle with armour piercing bullets would be really nice about now. But I was a hunter not a solider, that wasn't my way.

Another thing to consider was the fact that I was part Yuatja, not just mentally, also physically. They'd stopped giving me chemicals a while back, but I remembered asking about the treatments, and while I'd not understood the scientific terms for the most part the word 'transfusion' had stuck out. However that was the past, right now I was living in the moment, and I just noticed something, total silence there wasn't any sign of life at all.

I knelt down on one knee and felt the ground, unlike the other rooms in the pyramid, the floor here was moist and warm rather than dry stone.

"Where is the Queen?" Bulk wondered

We'd each killed one xenomorph, only six of the locals had been sacrificed, some sort of blue furred ape like creatures with a stone level of tech, as such there should be three more xenomorphs as well as the queen. She would have lain more eggs by now, but the facehuggers weren't the real concern, we wore masks for a reason.

The remaining aliens would hopefully be easier kills since we had each recovered our newest toy. The Plasma casters, were a Yautja long-range energy projector weapon with automatic targeting capabilities.

They were capable of firing armour-penetrating plasma bolts at distant targets, they were the most devastating and technologically advanced offensive tool that I knew about. However they were used for hunts so it was possible the Predators had even more powerful energy weapons to use if they ever went to war.

The bolts fired by the weapon explode in a burst of plasma upon striking a target, causing grievous wounds, removing limbs and even blasting holes right through people's chests.

Young Blooded Yautja, like Bulk, Skull and myself were denied the use of Plasma casters outside of special training sessions, and must undergo a Rite of Passage, which was what we were currently doing, in order to obtain our space guns.

Despite the enormous power of the Plasma caster, or rather because of it, it is considered among the least honourable weaponry the Yautja possess. However I wasn't expected to hunt like a Yautja, as such I was going to use my hand held version as often as I liked, at least when dealing with fucking xenomorphs.

"There are eggs here" commented Bulk.

I switched my mode of vision, blinking a number of times to let the mask know I wanted to change what I saw, until I could see the facehuggers inside the eggs. I wasn't too worried since I had no intention of taking my mask off, and they were dormant. For now.

"She's here" Skull told us.

I saw him active his shoulder canon, however he didn't fire it, he only set his target on the Queen Xenomorph that was hanging from the ceiling of the chamber. By following the three red laser beams I was able to locate the big momma alien.

How I'd not noticed that we'd walked under under a massive alien brood mother was a bit of a mystery, the only defence I had was that the xenomorphs didn't show up to well on several types of vision I could use via my mask and it was too dark here for my human eyes. Also she hadn't been moving, humans hunt by seeing movement.

The Queen slowly reached down, but unlike in the movie 'Aliens vs Predator' things not gone horribly wrong here, and the massive xenos was chained up. The Clan elders did not expect three novice hunters to take on a Queen in a fair fight. Some Clans might, ours, the Shadow Blades weren't that bloody stupid.

Skull had the perfect shot. The sound of his shoulder canon charging up drew the Queen's attention and she hissed at him. Meanwhile Bulk, who could jump real high for such a big fella, took his chance and jumped onto one of the Queen's rear legs. climbed it, and started stabbing her in the side with one of his wrist-blades. The Queen shook her body trying to shake Bulk off.

Then the Queen let out a very loud scream, that I guessed meant that she was calling her remaining children to her. The Xenomorphs came through the small holes in the ceiling coming to aid their mother.

Of course I'd been suspecting this would happen, and so I opened fired as soon as I saw them. Skull aided me in this task, and I discovered that if you keep your distance, kept your wits, and had plasma weapons, that xenomorphs aren't that dangerous. They were ambush predators, that used stealth to surprise their prey, as such if you could see them coming you had a fair chance of shooting them without worrying about acid blood and claws. Of course if they had numbers, then matters were different.

Not that numbers would have mattered in terms of my dicating my actions. When all you have is 'kill or be killed', it's a lot easier to keep fighting than you'd think. Humans don't like dying and at least some of that primordial instinct was alive within me. Their lack of numbers just meant my increased likelihood of not dying.

This was when things went less well for us. The Queen somehow got an arm lose and grabbed Bulk finally getting him off her, and she smashed him against the floor of the chamber twice before tossing him down to the ground.

Skull got knocked across the cavern by the Queen's large and sharp tail. He expelled so much air from his lungs upon meeting the wall that I heard it despite the distance and the odd noises the Queen was making.

I was about to join my hunter brothers in getting my ass kick when the big momma alien backed off as much as her chains would allow. I also noted that Bulk and Skull were alive, despite the fact that the Queen had enough freedom of movement to attack.

That was when one of the eggs opened. I quickly dealt with the facehugger that came for me. With my clawed hands, I wore special gauntlets since I didn't have real claws like a Predator, I swiped at the facehugger, driving it to the ground. I then impaled it on my combi-spear, which was I holding in my left hand.

Next I watched Bulk, who was up and about despite the ass whopping he'd gotten, rip in half a facehugger, which got some acid on him, but he ignored this. I didn't think Bulk actually felt pain

Skull had now opened fire on the remaining eggs, which left me free to shoot the Queen. I had a hand held version of the Plasma Caster, or Burners as they were sometimes called, it was a plasma pistol as such not that powerful, but it did the job.

By the end of hunt all of three of us were shooting the Queen until she finally gave in and died, which took a while, she was a stubborn alien broodmother that was for sure. Plus we had to stop in order to shoot more eggs otherwise the facehuggers would have drowned us in sheer numbers.

Not long after we were done the rest of the hunters joined us. Bulk, Skull and I removed our mask as the Clan leader, a Predator so old that his tendrils were a light grey, got down on his knees and broke a piece of the Queen Xenomorph's claws.

The very tip of which he used to mark the foreheads of my clan-brothers. I got marked on the side of the face rather than the forehead, no idea why, and it burned because the Xenomorphs blood was acid, but I took the pain. It would scar, however it would also mark me as a Blooded

"You are brothers, you are Blooded" the Clan leader declared.

From what my mentor had told me when Predators reached this rank that true opportunities presented themselves. We were adults now, not the equal of the true hunters sure, but more like younger brothers rather than children that needed to be looked after.

Now we could supervise un-Blooded warrior in their training, assist in running the ship, and can be chosen by a female to sire her pups, not that this was a concern for me since Yaujta and humans could not breed, and nor would we want to.

Some Blooded, I had been told, have aspirations to start clans of their own. This can be done by ousting the current leader of a clan, which was done via a method I knew nothing about, or commonly learning from them and starting from scratch. But it wasn't easy to become a Clan Leader, such a hunter would have to take out at least a whole xenomorph hive alone, before getting his own mother ship.

Still while it was highly unlikely I'd ever get my own mother ship it was something to hope for. And now that I was a Blooded warrior I needed something to work towards other than training and simply staying alive.

(Line Break)

 **Clan Ship. Aliens Vs Predator Verse.**

To my surprise, upon returning to the mother ship, or Clan ship as I liked to call it, I'd found my mentor and he had led me to a much larger room, which was now mine.

Ranks has its privileges, even for the Predators, and this room, had a king sized bed, a trophy case, which could be hidden from sight by a sliding wall, and was mostly empty at the moment. Only a xenomorph skull took up space.

There was an en suite bathroom, modified for humans use, and another hidden compartment for my armour and weapons. I didn't doubt that there with other hidden areas of storage as well.

Unlike humans the Predators didn't feel the need to have their possessions in view, and hunters seemed to own little when compared to the kind of people I'd grown up with.

This seemed odd, but I imagined that Predators thought it strange that humans cluttered up their homes with things they didn't need and spent so much time trying to acquire money.

I now had an impressive view of the stars. Of course there wasn't an actual window, more of a big TV screen, but it allowed me to look out into space, which was all that mattered. I could see the alien planet I'd just been on, it was a lot like Earth, only it had two ice moons, and that was cool.

Also I'd found a girl in my room, well a woman really. Naturally I'd asked why she was here.

"I was brought into the clan about four years before you arrived if I have my timing right, my colony was attack by Bad Bloods," the girl answered "They killed everyone, and then the Shadow Blades Clan killed the Bad Bloods, and took me in, I was just a kid back then".

That was sad and all, but not really what I'd meant.

"No I mean why are you in this room" I said.

She was only wearing that wire mesh material, only it was different from what I had under my armour, it was more comfortable looking, and under that only her breasts and private areas were covered, with some sort of satin like material it seemed. So she was not exactly undressed, but she was hardly decent.

"Oh I'm here because of the way Yuatja see humans " she said.

That just made me even more confused

"What do you know of Yuatja society?" I was then asked.

More than most humans I'd bet.

"I know that is governed by a Council of Ancients which consist of the oldest of the race. Their word is considered law, and they ensure that the many Clans follow the law. Inter-clan warfare is watched over by the Ancients and they decide matters such as which planet is considered a clan's hunting ground" I said "I also know that Yautja motivations for hunting are not just for sport, but rather for honour as well as social status, with the species having developed a whole tribal culture around their status at the top of the food chain, as the ultimate Predator. Their code of honour dictates what makes a worthy adversary, and thus what prey should be hunted. Predators or clans who go after more dangerous prey are more respected".

That wasn't all.

"The Predators are polytheistic, and their equivalent of the Grim Reaper is the "Black Warrior", who is seen as an eternal adversary who eventually wins all battles" was what I said next "They also have a warrior god, called Paya, but they don't worships these gods like a human would".

Rather than reply to any of that the woman, whose name I should have asked by now, sat down on my bed.

"What do you know about the females and their reproduction cycles?" she enquired.

I knew a little.

"Unlike Humans, Yautja have a breeding season, in which the females select the strongest and bravest males to sire their pups. Females do not generally pay much attention to young bloods or unblooded males. Its only when a male reaches Blooded status, like I just did, and has worthy kills to his name that a female desires to.. shall we say share his company".

Oh so that was why she was here.

"I also know that they are bigger and stronger than the males" I then added "Some do hunt, but not in this clan, most of the females of the species run the actual society, and raise the children, male children join a clan but not the clan of their male relatives, at least not normally, but some clans do things a little differently".

That was about all I knew. Predators weren't exactly a chatty lot, as such I'd had to listen loads just to get this much. I didn't have access to any computers, although with my new rank that would change. I now had one of those wrist devices, but I wasn't sure how to use it and since it could blow up I wasn't inclined to start randomly pressing buttons.

"Well the Clan Leader understands that some humans mate for life, which they don't understand" I was now being told "And Yautja males and females don't live together like human couples".

She then paused.

"ourclanleaderwantsmetomatewithyou," the girl said quickly.

Well that made no sense.

"What?" was my reply.

The girl took a deep breath

"Because our clan leader wants me to make babies with you" she said "Besides with another human on board this vessel, I won't be alone any more. This clan takes on humans, but not very often, and they don't know what to do with me. I'm not a warrior, and they don't have any other females on the ship, so the clan leader decided we should mate. I'm not sure what will happen when I get pregnant, but I assume the clan leader has ideas. Until then I'm to live with you and do whatever a guy like you expects a girl to do for him I guess".

I'd just killed xenomorphs, after that very little can phase you. As such I just didn't react to this news.

"What's your name?" I asked the young woman.

"Jubilee" she told me.

This was when something else came to mind.

"Earlier you said colony" I mentioned "So your not from Earth. What year is it".

Jubilee needed a moment to think.

"2217 I think" she told me "Maybe 2218 its hard to keep track".

"So I'm two hundred years in the future and in another universe" I muttered to myself very softly.

Before we could get any further my mentor entered the room. He actually pounded on the door and waited a few seconds before entering the room. That was down right polite for a Predator.

"Jewel-Bee" the yautja greeted Jubilee.

He sometime still called me: Goat-sick. I swore he did it on purpose.

"Sir" I greeted.

The yautja then turned his attention to me and asked,

"How are you feeling, Gothic?" he asked.

Okay he was saying my name right for once.

"Just peachy," I answered, with some sarcasm as I was sore and tired.

The yautja tilted his head to the side and Jubilee clarified

"It means that he's fine" she told him.

She glared at me as if to tell me to knock off my sarcasm.

"Good," the Predator said. "Training can resume".

He had to be joking

"You may be Blooded warrior now, but there is always time for more training" my mentor went on to say "You must practice with your plasma caster".

Oh he wasn't joking. Fuck I really wanted to lie down, and there was a woman here to lie down with.


	4. Chapter 4

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 4**

 **Space Station. Milky Way Galaxy.**

I'd not been given much in the way of an education on Predator culture or history, although I did know they had art in te form of sculptors, in fact I'd not been told much about them at all since my mentor had wisely kept me focused on training my body and mind so that I could survive in a hostile universe which was full of things that wanted to kill me.

Because of his training I'd survived my xenomorph trial without so much as a cut, this was partly due to the fact that no stupid humans had been around to mess with things they shouldn't, but it also partly due to me having trained so much. Plus having plasma weapons happened to be a big help as did having two other hunters at my side.

The downside to this was when I'd arrived at this massive space station I'd had no idea what to expect.

Now I was learning fast as I wandered through the huge construct, for starters while I had known for some that the Yaujta home world was in a whole different galaxy, having been shown star maps, I had never realised just how many of the hunters there were within this version of the Milky Way Galaxy. They were very well spread out.

I knew the race was old and that there were alpha predators in this universe, and that they could have huge colonies in many galaxies, but seeing dozens of mother ships, of which no two seemed exactly alike, really allowed it to sink in. For some reason I'd always though of them as minor in number.

There were hundreds of Yaujta on those ships out there and maybe thousands on this station, it was certainly big enough. Also this wasn't even their home galaxy. This was just some frontier outpost to them I was willing to bet.

Seeing all of this made me realise just how small and unimportant Earth, and all the people on that planet, were when compared to the Predators. This race of hunters were spread across entire galaxies and had been for thousands of years.

Given their numbers a lot more of them should be running around the Earth of this reality, taking skulls and spines, the fact that they weren't gave me an understanding of the scale of things. The Predators had whole galaxies to treat as hunting grounds. Maybe whole universes if the sheer amount of crossover comics were anything to go by.

"Blooded Spears. Dark Hunters. Head Crushers. Spine Rippers" said Skull as he pointed to the different ship "Bone Breakers. Shadow Stalkers".

As he spoke I had to wonder if he was telling me about the clans on the ships or if he was telling me the names of death metal bands he liked.

"Let's look around" I suggested.

Bulk and Skull were blooded warriors and as such of equal rank and real Yautja so they had no reason to obey me so I didn't give them any orders, but they didn't seem to mind my suggestions. Perhaps because humans were considered to be smart even by Predator standards. Or maybe these two were just at ease with me. The three of us had taken on xenomorphs together, which had to mean something.

I was also sure that no one here would bother me as long as these two lug heads were here. It was hard to tell with the masks, but I was sure that I was getting some odd looks from a few hunters. Which I ignored as best I could while also admiring the sights.

Since no one wanted to explain things to me verbally I could only observe and when possible experiment as to why I cared so much about gathering knowledge, well: 'Scientia Est Potentia'.

This station had what I'd called bio-domes, possibly prey of some sort were brought to the domes to be hunted, or it might just be a place for the Predators relax. Heck for all I knew they were crèches for the kids, or even Yaujta theme parks. There's so much about them I didn't understand, and I doubted I'd ever figure them out.

"So why are we here?" I asked Bulk and Skull.

I'd not actually been told why I was here I'd just been told to go. My teacher seemed to be under the impression that almost everything a person needed to know could be figured out by that person through simple observation, if they were smart enough.

"Mating season" Skull replied.

Well that explained why these two had gotten all dressed up in their best armour, weapons and trophies. They were here to impress the girls.

Which made sense as Human males displayed expensive possessions that hinted at the amount of cash in their bank accounts to show off their successfulness; Yautja let their trophies do the talking for them. They went to great effort just for the right to sire sucklings.

Perhaps I shouldn't judge. Predators only killed what was honourable to kill. Humans killed harmless animals for less honourable reasons, such as shy deer, unsuspecting birds, dumb fish, and made trophies out of them. If a Yautja ever saw the trophies that humans kept, they'd probably think it was rather barbaric.

This would be all amusing if not for the fact that Yaujta females were scary as hell. I was so glad that they didn't even bother to acknowledge my existence. I'd even been warned to avoid making eye contact with the females least I offend an important female, and she killed me for the crime.

I had new armour on as well, plain black stuff that left as little as possible exposed while somehow not being too bulky, but did have weaknesses around the joints. Under it on my top half I wore a wire mesh under suit that helped keep my temperature steady, which was good because otherwise I'd be sweating buckets. I also wore human style shoes, socks and combat patterned trousers. Clearly the whole outfit had been custom made for me given that it was light weight and offered much more protection than what the Predators themselves wore.

Also I had trophies, mostly xenomorph parts. I had tail and chain thing going over one shoulder and down to my waist on the other side. This had been created by my clan's trophy master as a sort of bandoleer, the trophy master's job was to make decorations out of body parts basically. He also taught others how to prepare trophies, but until recently he'd not been willing to teach me. Now that I was blooded I seemed to be worthy of notice.

My other trophies, which I carried on my person, made me feel the tribal warrior I in some sense was. I had claws and teeth from different animals dangling off me. But not to many, it wouldn't do to rattle as I moved around. My stealth skills weren't that great, as such I didn't need a hindrance.

As for weapons my mentor had presented me with a special sword, it was something labelled a Szabla wz. 34 that had been made in Poland. When my mentor had told me about the weapons its name translated as  
1934 Pattern Szabla. Given the age of the weapon and given how sturdy it was, I didn't think it was a ceremonial weapon, it could have been used to lethal effect during World War Two.

I also carried a bow and arrow, while they might seem primitive they were not. The clan's weapon master, who was another high ranking member of the clan, had replaced my older bow and arrow with something more modern looking. The tips of the arrows were incredible sharp, and I didn't think they were made from steel, they were too light.

On my hip was my plasma pistol, which was just a hand held version of a plasma caster that was normally shoulder mounted. I didn't use the shoulder mounted version since I didn't have the big shoulders and superior up body strength, however that shouldn't have been an issue with the lighter version of the weapon I used. The real reason I used a pistol was that having a weapon go off near my head really unnerved me. And at least this version had been modified with a trigger guard made for a human hand.

The downside to the plasma pistol was while it could one shot kill even a fully grown xenomorph it had a slow rate of fire and needed to recharge, and the more often it was fired the longer the recharge cycle took. But it was the weapon of a Hunter not a solider so I shouldn't really to fire it too often..

Aside from all that I carried a special knife, which made from some sort of highly acid resistant metal. Which was used to when taking trophies. It could easily cut through human bone, or so I'd been told, I wasn't eager to find out if it was able to.

I was now looking around so more, but there wasn't much to see. The Predators seemed to be wondering around, a few were entering buildings that had been put inside the domes, but I had no idea why or what the purpose of the buildings were.

That was when I heard something I'd not heard in what felt like years, although it might have been only a few months, and that was music. 80's rock music to be precise. I moved over to the source of the sweet sounds and looked inside a room that could be access via an archway.

I was rather shocked to find a bar of all things. I knew the Predators had booze I'd tried some, and several hours later I'd awoke in a daze with a worried Jubilee trying to wake me up.

There were Yautja words on the arch, or it might be better to call them hieroglyphs since each symbol could be a word, or just a syllable depending on how it was used.

C'nlip which I knew meant intoxicating beverage and pyode amedha, which meant soft meat, or human. Then amedha was repeated, which just meant meat in this case. Also the symbol for ooman, or human was up there.

Drinks and food for humans?

Well that would explain the music and why this one part of the station wasn't so warm.

"I'm going in there" I told Bulk and Skull "You two have fun with the whole mating season thing. I plan to avoid it".

Both of the hunters laughed for a few moments before almost pushing me into the bar. What did they know that I didn't?

The bar proved to have more than just human customers, assuming this was a business of sorts, there were other races here, no Predators at all, and most were human looking. That explained why the word 'oomans' was used as well as the phrase 'soft meat'. It was an invite for members of the more fragile races.

Within I saw a Pureblood Sith of all things, who was talking to a blue skinned Twi'lek girl. What looked be Klingons of some sort only they lacked hair. What I guessed to be a Skrull from the Marvel comics. A Krogan from Mass Effect. One corner was taken up by a small group of Sangheili, more commonly known as Elites. A couple of Narn from the B5 universe and many kinds of humans. Mostly female humans I noted. And these were just the ones I recognised.

After taking off my mask, which was also knew and somewhat skull like in appearance, I tasted the air. No smoke smell, but there was certain stink of stale beer and a more pleasant aroma of food.

I then saw my reflection in a mirror that was behind some bottles of booze. I'd changed, I wasn't just fitter and somehow taller, my eyes were green, and I didn't seem to be growing facial hair as quickly as I used to or I'd a proper beard by now. The Yautja must have altered me more than I'd realised.

Looking around some more I saw that a human man was running the bar, and he seemed familiar somehow, however before I could go talk to him someone else got my attention.

"Well hello there, handsome" said a voice.

I turned to see a red headed woman, always a sign of incoming trouble, who was wearing an odd combination of what seemed to be Yautja armour, and riot gear, over a rather transparent layer of wire mesh under suit.

She was armed with two plasma pistols much like my own. The bolts fired by plasma pistols were for all intents and purposes identical to those launched by Plasmacasters. The major differences come in the operation of the weapon itself; being hand-held, it lacked any form of automated target tracking and must be aimed manually. Coupled with the lack of an form of laser sight, this makes the weapon suitable at only short range.

Aside form the pistols she carried two nightsticks or batons of some sort, which were clearly not standard police issue, not unless the part of Earth she came from had a very cruel police force. If she had other weapons I didn't get to see them as she spoke and drew attention to my face.

"Tallish, dark haired" she was saying "I just hope you don't talk much".

I was finding words hard right now. I was sure I knew this woman from somewhere, I just couldn't figure out where from.

"Errrm" I managed to say.

My lack of verbal skills seemed to please her.

"Good, now my name is Alice. Let's go back to my place" she said "You can look at my trophies, or my tits, whatever it is that gets your dick hard".

I was more of an ass guy myself, but hey why not? Also fuck proper introductions, flirting, or any sort of romance. Apparently its mating season.

(Line Break)

 **Chamber. Mother Ship.**

Before I knew what was happening my lips were pressed against hers. Her hungry mouth seemed to want to devour my tongue, and as she slipped out of her armour I got the impression that her pussy must be on fire with need because she didn't at all bother with foreplay.

She reached for my trousers, which were combat fatigue patterned, as I got my fingers inside her. It didn't take much effort to free my cock, and judging by her smile she was pleased enough with what she found.

Once she had wrapped her palm around my hard dick. She stroked me a few times before pulling me towards her parted thighs. Before long I was inside a cunt so wet and hot it didn't seem human.

"That's the spot," Alice said as I began to fuck her.

Before long I pushing deep into her love channel, and I felt the velvety goodness of Alice's womanhood wrap around my dick like the softest vice in history.

Alice's eyes, which matched my rather odd shade of green, gazed intensely at me as I fucked her, and she was saying a lot without talking I was sure, but fuck if I knew if I knew what any of it meant.

"You feel so damn good baby" she said.

Saying stuff verbally helped.

"When I'm on top. You're going to be screaming my name" she then promised "Ohhh AHH!",

By this point I was fucking her so hard that I couldn't even understand what it was she was saying, but that didn't stop her from trying to talk dirty to me.

(Line Break)

 **Chamber. Mothership.**

Well that had been fun. I'd not expected to met Milla Jovovich, or Project Alice, all the way out in the depths the Milky Way, and I'd certainly hadn't expected to fuck her a few times before she decided to take a break for something to eat.

She hadn't gotten any food for me so I wasn't sure if I should leave or if she just expected me to get my own and then have more sex, this wasn't a case of human mating to be sure and I no idea how Yautja dealt with the morning after issue.

"Well that was enjoyable" I said.

Alice, she had to be that woman given her stamina and the fact she'd also been adopted into a Yuajta clan, just nodded.

"Don't get attached to anyone" she warned "You'll only survive out here by looking after yourself. Now get dressed. I'll take you back the bar. If I'm not pregnant in a few days, and you're still around I'll come find out so you can finish the job. Next time invite the girl to your room, show off your trophies, fuck her, and then she'll leave. Unless you like decide to keep her as a pet or a slave or whatever they call it, assuming the hunters see a difference, some clans do let their blooded warriors from different races do that, but you might want to ask first if your the kind to settle for one woman".

Okay hearing that led me to having many more questions, but somehow I just didn't think she was going to answer any of them. Thankfully I knew by now how to learn a lot via simple observation. Not that this stopped me from wanting to ask a hundred off questions.

"Fine one question, but I go first" she said, having no doubt sensed my great curiosity "Why the fuck did you want me to yell out 'multipass' when I was riding you the third time we did it?".

I answered the question as best I could.

"You reassemble an actress who in a movie plays a human looking alien who can't speak English, but she can somehow read it. Anyway in a scene I really like she and the main character are boarding a ship to go somewhere, and she keeps saying 'multipass' because its on her boarding past, and its one of the few words she knows".

Alice just blinked a few times.

"That makes no sense but okay" she said "Time for your question".

I had so many, but one seemed more important than the others.

"Pregnant?" I asked.

She smiled.

"Its mating season" she reminded me.

Oh right.

(Line Break)

 **Room. Mother Ship.**

Mating season seemed to be something that was going to last a while, and there didn't seem to be many females who were interested in me. Mostly because while there seemed to be more females than males, not counting the Predators, here at the station. They just weren't impressed by me.

Alice had not come back, which could mean I'd knocked her up. It seemed to easy to me, but for all I knew she'd taken some Predator drug to make herself super fertile. I should have asked about that given the T-virus, but I was sure that was in any way an issue we'd already be surrounded by zombies.

"You need more trophies" Jubilee advised as she struggled to put my hair into dreadlocks "And you need to display your rank better. You're a blooded warrior of the Shadow Blades clan, you've killed xenomorphs the stuff of nightmares".

That might explain why she was using silver bands to help keep my new hairstyle in place. The bands small ring things made from rare metals. Some Yuatja used gold or ivory, but silver was fine too, as long as it was tasteful. Well tasteful by Predator standards.

"Perhaps I should just wait until next year" I mused "And I've got you. Are you pregnant yet?".

Jubilee froze. I could feel her lack of movement since she was behind me.

"No" she said after a while "I wouldn't be here if I was. The females of this clan don't allow pregnant females to leave the home world. And there's no rush. We can do other stuff. I'm not eager to leave".

I didn't really want to get attached, but rather than talk about that I changed the subject.

"So where did you learn to style hair?" I asked.

"Back at the colony" she answered "And I've seen female Yautja do this for their sons before sending them away. I guess they do love their kids if nothing else".

The Predators were a confusing lot. I had many ideas on why they might hunt, and perhaps all of them were right. One of my theories was that they had automated their industry to the point that they didn't need to do much of anything, and what did need to be done the females handled, so they hunted to stop themselves becoming lazy and weak.

I just didn't understand what they got out of having us humans around. Were we all just servants, pets, were they learning about us as I struggled to learn about them? Or was I just entertainment of a kind?

"All done" Jubilee declared.

I had no mirror so I couldn't check out the result of her hard work.

"Guess I'll head back to bar" I said while standing up "Unless you're in the mood".

Jubilee smiled.

"You know I really miss having someone to talk to" she said "Maybe I could massage you, while we chat".

That sounded dull, and she picked up on that.

"Then afterwards I'll give you a nice long blowjob" she offered.

Well if nothing else it would pass the time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 5**

 **Sol System. AVP Universe. Centuries Ago.  
**

The Engineer ship moved silently through space, as all things did, but with its dark hull and seeming ease of movement, it somehow seemed extra stealthy. Almost as if it was sneaking up on the planet it intended to destroy.

Of course this wasn't quite the case, the ship meant no harm to anyone, it was the crew on board that planned to do all the killing, and they wouldn't actually destroy the planet, just the life forms on it, only they saw what they were about to do as a form of renewal.

With their specially prepared weapon, if the strange black goo could be called that, all existing life would swept aside and the Engineers could begin again once things had calmed down. They were confident that in a few more million years that a new form of humanoid life based upon them would spring up in time, as it had on other worlds, and would do given enough time elsewhere in this galaxy.

The intentions of the Engineers were moot however as they never got the chance to carry out their plans. A Yautja mother ship de-cloaked and without warning the vessel opened fire. The Engineer ship quickly fled, employing its FTL drive, and soon crashed on a world millions of miles away. It hadn't been a thrilling battle, not really a battle at all.

As for the Predators, it might seem as if they'd acted to defend a helpless species, but the truth was they just wanted to be able to keep hunting the locals, humans they were called.

The humans never knew how close to destruction they'd come, and they had their own concerns in any case. One of which was that they were soon to be clan of hunters from beyond the stars who had a fixation for collecting skulls.

(Line Break)

 **Colony World. AVP Universe. Centuries Later.  
**

A lone Yautja entered the concrete room that had once been the basement of someone's home, and picked up the wooden chair that had been lying on the floor. It, I didn't know the gender of this Predator, positioned itself on the opposite end of the table and motioned for me to sit down. I did as I was invited, though cautiously since I had no idea what was going on here.

"How does your head feel, Ooman"? the large Yautja enquired of me.

I felt as if the question was being asked in a spiteful tone, how I couldn't be sure.

"Better" was my reply "I assume you did this"

I ran a hand over the bandages on my forehead. The last thing I remembered before waking up in this room was attack a Wayland-Yutani base that was part of a larger colony.

The company had built the base, and I assumed a colony to support it, on a world owned by the Shadow Blades clan, and they hadn't taken kindly to the trespass, but that wasn't the real issue. Some Yautja tech had fallen into humans hands so we'd attacked. Not the colony part, the base as that was where the tech would be stored.

As the fight had started I'd hesitated, not wanting to kill other humans, and that had gotten me hurt. In the future I wouldn't be so careless, and I would remember just how dangerous members of my species could be.

"Your welcome" it said, while crossing its arms.

I hadn't actually thanked this alien. I wasn't sure they had words required for it.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but why didn't you leave me to die?" I questioned.

Mercy was not a Predator trait, or at least not a common one, they would have recovered their tech from my body, they might even have buried me, but I was sure that just see my injuries as proof that I was not a hunter like the rest of them and they would have left me to die.

The Yautja clicked it mandibles, perhaps chuckling at me. Then it began tapping on its wrist device. I heard a series of beeps come from it before it began projecting an image onto the middle of the table.

Soon I was studying the red tinted hologram, which was showing me a planet. Odd symbols in the same shade of red flashed rapidly, changing into different symbols as they floated the side of the rotating planet. It was too fast for me to read.

"Is this where we are?" I asked.

Unlike the other worlds I'd visited this planet was not much like Earth. Likely it had been terraformed like that planet you see in Alien and Aliens, but that didn't mean it was anything more than a wasteland with only the most sparse of vegetation, if that. Humans didn't seem to have evolved to the point where they could attempt to recreate Earth. No doubt the verdant worlds I had seen were the work of the Engineers, or just existed due to the randomness of the universe.

"You do not recognize it?" the predator asked as it cocked it's head to the side "We are on this world".

The Yautja then swiped a hand over the wrist device and turned off the hologram. Next it began to walk around the wooden table towards me.

"For humans short term memory loss isn't uncommon after getting a head injury" I explained.

"Your injury. It must be worse than I thought. I must replace your bandages Ooman" the Predator said.

What followed was really awkward bit of first aid. Some of which involved having paste applied to my head.

"Thank you.. for patching me up, I mean" I said.

The Yautja snarled in response as it began to undo the bandages from around my forehead. Now that the hunter was so close to me, I was sure it was female. I wasn't sure how I knew this, but that didn't prevent me from being certain of the fact.

"Be quiet" the alien ordered.

Wisely I kept my mouth shut and let the hunter get on with patching me up. As she worked I noted that the female wore armour more sophisticated looking than what was worn by others. Not in the sense that it was more ornate, the materials seemed finer, and she had trophies too. Perhaps the females did hunt after all. I had thought the hunting was all about impressing the girls, but maybe it was more about social status and honour than I had been thinking.

"I won't need you for long" the alien told me once it was done.

Hopefully that meant I'd be returned to the male half of the clan once she was done with me. I knew this female was a member of my clan as she had the same symbol I did, only hers was on her armour in a few places.

"You haven't explained what you need me for" I said.

Yautja weren't the chatty kind, but I did need to know what was going on here. If only so I could help and get things over with more quickly.

"My people, our clan, is looking for an 'Engineer' ship on a nearby planet. We have found out that Oomans have already been there, have been inside the 'Engineer' ship, and the Ooman ship crashed on this world" I was told "We must investigate the both ships, that will be much easier with a Ooman to help us".

Oh I so hoped this didn't involve xenomorphs in some way. I really wasn't ready to face more of them.

"What you call 'Engineers' we call an old foe. We cannot get inside the that ship, and we suspect that taking one of you may hold the answer to our problem".

I got up out of the wooden chair I'd been sitting in as female gathered the materials she'd used to fix my head. As I ran my hands through my oily hair I cringed slightly. I was in bad shape, and in dire need of a shower. But for now I'd settle for some fresh air.

"Do you mind if I step outside"? I asked

"Just don't run. Otherwise, I will kill you" the female promised.

I knew better than to run, and not just because the female would come after me, but because it was snowing hard out here. It must be at least a foot high now. The temperature out here wasn't too bad, the clouds were sparse and the sun hung high, providing light for miles of viewing. There might not be much in the way of plants and animals here, at least when compared to Earth, but that didn't mean it wasn't a proper world. It had climates and weather at least.

"Aren't you cold"? I questioned when the female joined me.

She was wearing what some humans would consider 'practically nothing' over her mesh layer. For some reason higher ranked Yautja thought it was a good idea to go hunting while mostly naked. Not all were like this, but enough were that I had to wonder if they wanted to get killed in a fight.

"Not at all. We're much tougher than you delicate little creatures" she boasted

Well she wasn't wrong. Still I knew they were drawn to heat.

"We need to search for the Ooman ship" the female said next "I was only given so much time to look for answers".

Going now wasn't a good idea. I only had my armour, mask, and wrist device. I assumed my weapons and trophies had been taken back to the mother ship for storage, or at least I hoped they had. Replacing them would be a pain.

"I need something to eat before we go" I stated.

The female growled.

"We eat when it's time, the sun is still far too high" she told me.

Silence filled the air for a few moments.

"Do you have a plan for getting to the human ship?" I wondered.

She nodded.

"Ooman ships use nuclear power for their engines, all I must do is scan for abnormal levels of radiation. We will start searching close to the place where I found you" she explained.

I reckoned it was as good a plan as any. Most likely the vessel had been on its way to the company base here on this planet. I also didn't doubt that it had been transporting something highly dangerous which had gotten lose and then had killed the crew.

"So is there a reason you chose me to help?" I asked curiously.

I knew that I wasn't the only human in the clan.

"You were here" she said.

Made sense.

"What do you want with an Engineer ship?" I dared to question.

"We will both know soon enough what lies inside" was all she said.

Soon a scoutship de-cloaked above us and began to land a short distance away, outside of the building I'd just exited. From what I'd been able to piece together during my time with the Predators. The Scout Ship was a short range Yautja Spacecraft which is usually connected to a Mother Ship.

I could see now that this model of Scout Ship, they often came in various designs and two were totally alike, had three external thrusters and a large blade on the belly of the vessel.

Then I recalled that Scout Ships usually had a fairly large trophy room within them that was used for displaying any trophies obtained on Hunts, as if they'd be used for anything else given who flew these ships.

Scout Ships also possessed holographic technology capable of displaying holograms of nearby planets likely to be used as a site for a Hunt. This vessel might contain more, perhaps I'd soon find out.

Two Yautja walked out of the ship moments after it landed, and I noted that they were fully dressed in hunter gear, and that they carried rifles of some kind. Clearly these two were not typical hunters.

They both stared me up and down as they walked over to female. The two were clearly male, being shorter and they wore a lot more trophies than the female I was with. She began to talk to the other Yautja in their native tongue, which was either being spoken too rapidly for my mask to translate, or they were talking in a code.

"Ooman! Behave yourself" one of the predators said, before clicking its mandibles in what could have been laughter.

The two turned and entered the craft again, and we followed them.

"They are going to help us find the Ooman ship" she informed me.

Rather than reply I walked over to the the row of seats that lined the walls and sat down at the one closest to the cockpit. This version of the scout ship seemed more like a troop transport than anything else. There were plenty of seats and rather plain walls all around me.

"I'm going to talk with the pilots. Stay put" the female ordered.

At this point I figured that I'd take a nap, seeing as there wasn't much else I could do. I dimly recalled that this was a bad idea if you had a concussion, but I simply didn't care.

(Line Break)

 **Scout Ship. Colony Planet.**

"Ooman. Wake up!".

Yautja bedside manner left much to be desired. You weren't suppose to shake people into wakefulness. Still it was effective, although having to wake up to seeing a bio-mask right up in your face wasn't very pleasant. I was also wearing mine, which was good because I doubted that the Yaujta wanted to look at my face any more than I wanted to look at theirs.

"Have you found anything yet?" I asked.

I made an attempt to keep my voice gentle and respectful, but I had no idea if the Yautja understood my efforts, or if she even cared.

"We should be landing any moment to check out a site" the female responded.

Her voice seemed distant. She seemed lost in thought, perhaps she was making plans. Such as how she would kill me once this mission was done.

The ship came to a stop and began to descend. Finally we landed, and the doors of the shuttle slid open and we were greeted with a downpour of rain as well as gusting winds. I took a step out into the mud and looked towards the human made ship close by.

"This is it" the female Predator said.

She spoke loudly over the wind, but she hardly needed to do the translator would have picked up the slack.

Getting inside the human made vessel was as simple as pressing a button, in fact it was exactly that simple, the ship wasn't locked up at all. I assumed therefore that it was civilian and not military.

As the ship opened up there was hiss sound from the door, and it lowered down into a ramp which meant we could just walk inside. Not that I did as I was well aware that it could be infested with xenomorphs, or something else that wanted to rip my face off, however the female went in first and she didn't seem concerned so I soon followed.

(Line Break)

 **Human Ship. Colony World.**

"Take what you want" the female told me "Find yourself food if you must eat, and then get to work. I need information".

Given that I was lacking in weapons I went right for the armoury. Soon I was the proud owner of the standard M41A _Pulse Rifle,_ which was an an American-made pulse-action assault rifle chambered for 10×24mm Caseless ammunition. According the manual, which I flicked through, both the United States Colonial Marine Corps and the United States Army used this model of pulse rifle as there primary infantry weapon. And apparently it had seen regular use in various engagements with the Xenomorph and Yautja species. Which surprised me as I hadn't thought that humans were that aware of those two races, perhaps in this version of the AVP reality they were. Plus it had a U1 Grenade Launcher attached, which I was sure would come in handy one day. As for its other features I'd read about them later. Right now I had other things to do.

I also took a VP78 Pistol, which I learned was chambered for 9mm squash-head rounds for increased stopping power. It could fire in both semi-automatic and three-round burst modes; while accuracy during three-round burst is poor, it greatly increased the weapon's effectiveness at close range. The weapon had neither the stopping power nor the long-range accuracy of many other weapons, but as a sidearm it would do its job.

After that I grabbed a flash-light, a human made first aid kit, a portable computer device of some sort that turned out to be a high tech Motion detector, and a couple of what could either be flares or grenades. Of course I took a combat knife as well as some spare ammo. I'd be foolish not to do so. I even found a backpack to store what ever I couldn't carry or shove into a pouch.

Once I'd looted the armoury, which was short on heavy weapons, most likely because this wasn't a warship. I took a look around the living areas. While I had no desire to take anyone's personal belongings, there were a few things I wanted, and a hunter could carry a surprising amount on his person. Proper soap was nice, and I grabbed some other bathroom related items as well.

Then I headed for the ship's mess in order to raid the kitchen. Even MREs tasted good when compared to the rations the Yaujta gave me to eat. As for the coffee, that was like a gift send by God himself.

(Line Break)

With coffee in hand, I decided to get to work. I found the ship's control centre and did my best to figure out how things worked. This made me feel very primitive as lot of this stuff was two hundred years ahead of what I was used to. I felt not unlike a steam boat operator who'd been put in charge of the QE2.

I did manage rather quickly to find some messages sent out by this ship which were being received by all 'Weyland' vessels, likely as an SOS. So it seemed likely that someone would arrive sooner or later to salvage the craft. Either due to the signal or because the company base on this planet would have called for aid.

Soon I learned that this ship, which had a name that meant nothing to me, perhaps it was named after a person who been born in the last couple of centuries, was long distance exploration cruiser.

It, and by that I meant the crew, was meant to find lush, lively planets and take samples of the flora and fauna. These samples would then be studied for things such as possible medical applications. They also took mineral samples and checked out water sources for purity. In the cargo hold must have been thousands of different things from multiple planets.

This explained the lack of any real heavy weapons in the armoury. The science teams would have an escort, but against most life forms out in the galaxy, at least from what I'd seen, pulse rifles would be more than enough to drive hostile creatures away.

With time and effort, and perhaps some luck, I found the Engineer ship that the female Yaujta wanted to find.

It was classified as a Juggernaut class ship, which were large, asymmetrical, wishbone-shaped spacecraft, with thickened central sections between two horns, which bend upwards. The ships typically had three large openings near ground level between two horns, leading into the interior of the Juggernaut class.

Juggernaut interiors were designed in a highly bio-organic fashion, resembling more of a living organism than a space-going vessel, with skeletal walls, circular gangways and steep passageways.

It was unknown how many crew members were typically required to man the whole ship, though the vessel seems to be able to function reliably with as little as a single pilot according to the report I was reading. Judging from the sheer size of the ship, however, it would be possible for the ship to have easily carried hundreds of passengers.

At the very bottom of the short report was a set of coordinates. Which I wrote down since I had no idea how to transfer information to my wrist computer, or if that was even possible.

After that I checked out the photos that came with the report, they were of poor quality, suggesting some sort of interference, but I saw nothing worrying. The humans had take something from the ship, but what that was I simply didn't know.

"Is this it? There nothing but poorly taken images!" the female Predator complain.

Rather than reply I ignored her comment and continued to look at the rest.

"Look there" I said.

This picture was in considerably better condition than the rest. It wasn't of anything special, just a landscape shot, which was admittedly beautiful. But what was interesting, was that an engineer ship could be seen resting at the base of a mountain.

Then I saw the coordinates, which I assumed were for both the planet's location in space and the ship's location on the planet.

"I will take everything you've found on this ship so I can send it to the elders" the female said.

She began to type on her wrist device, making note of the coordinates on the screen I guessed.

"Now we shall go to that ship and end this mission" the female declared.

Well time to move on then.

(Line Break)

 **Engineer Ship. Alien Planet.**

Getting inside this ship proved to be far more of a chore than getting inside the human made vessel, and I had to go in alone as the Engineers had security measures in place to stop Predators from messing with their tech. Which made sense as the two races didn't get along.

Apparently these safety measures did not effect humans. Which made sense as this ship had crashed on this planet thousands of years ago, so unless the Romans had been a heck of a lot more advanced than the history books told us the Engineers hadn't needed to worry about humans trying to board their space ships which had crashed far from Earth.

And how many crashed ships were there anyway? Why hadn't the Engineers come along and recovered any of them?

More questions that would never be answered, and right now it hardly mattered, I just didn't like not knowing. I felt unprepared.

Which wasn't to say that I was totally unprepared. I had my new humans weapons, armour made from advanced alien alloys and cool mask which let me see what was going around on me in a great amount of detail.

"Move towards the control devices" a voice told me.

I assumed by that the female meant get nearer to the dead Space Jockey who was sitting/lying in some of control apparatus. It was quite dead judging by its complete lack of body heat, and had one of those elephant masks on. There might be some living Engineers somewhere inside this craft, but if they were I had no desire to met any of them.

"Touch your gauntlet to the devices" I was instructed.

The controls, such as they were, happened to activate when my wrist computer came into contact with them. My best guess here was that my wrist device was some linked to the computer on board the scout ship. Which made sense since I knew that if I died recordings of my last hunt would be sent to the Clan Leader for review, they could also see what I'd seen with the mask should I send out a distress call.

By the female I was then told to press certain symbols and once I had the ship came to life. I was then ordered to wait, which and did an before long the female was with me, and she was followed by one of the males. He was soon taking small cylinders, information storage devices I guessed, out of the weird chair thing.

"Go and wait on the scout ship" she commanded "Do not delay. I will soon destroy this vessel".

I did just that and was left feeling unsatisfied and undervalued by the whole experience.


	6. Chapter 6

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 6**

 **Chambers. Mother Ship.**

Jubilee had never really known what to do with herself ever since she'd been taken in by the clan. She was no fighter and the Predators had no need of servants since most of work was handled by machines or done by the aliens themselves who weren't above getting their hands dirty.

The only reason they'd taken her in was because one of the clan had been unwilling to leave a helpless human child alone to die of starvation or exposer. They weren't a species known for kindness, but they had a sense of honour and weren't above showing a rare bit of mercy.

In hindsight Jubilee might have been better off if she had been left to die. There would have been a chance that she'd survive long enough for a human rescue effort to find her. And if she had died, well then maybe she'd have seen her family again.

Still she didn't dwell on that. As she sat in the chambers of the man she'd been more or less given to, she listened to him and his teacher discuss the mission the apprentice, would soon be going on.

He was going to leave on a scout ship soon to check out worlds in a distant galaxy, and some of these words had human life on them according to early reports. That didn't really make sense to Jubilee, but it hardly mattered. What did matter was this was her chance to escape her currently unpleasant existence. She intended to seize it. Now she just needed a plan.

(Line Break)

 **Scout Ship. Pegasus Galaxy.**

If anyone had bothered to ask me I would have admitted to finding this all very thrilling. After being picked up by my clan after being left on that Yautja space station, and after finding out that it was gateway to other universes, my mentor had spent time teaching me how to pilot a scout ship, which was surprisingly easy and could be done by a single person.

A lot of it was highly automated, you just picked where you wanted to go and away the ship went. It even handled the landing, although I didn't know how it knew where to land. The craft could even home in on the Clan's mother ship over vast distances.

At least I hoped this was true as I was currently in another galaxy in a different universe, having used the gateway station to get here. If something went wrong with the autopilot I was totally boned.

In theory I would be able to get back using my ship. Which had the ability to a multiverse jump, but couldn't produce the power required to perform it more than once so I would have get the batteries recharged after every trip, which could be done at the gateway station or at the mother ship.

At least that was my limited understanding. The human ship I'd spent some time on had at least been filled with recognisable things such as screens and keyboards. This ship was even harder to work with, and displayed information, when there was any, wasn't in English. However like the human ship everything was as user friendly as possible. In this case I suspected the controls had been purposely dumbed down for me.

My mentor, who over time was becoming less my teacher and more of a general guide, had helped ensure that I was well supplied for this trip, I had enough food and water packed away to last weeks, as well spare weapons, some tools, extra ammo, a spare quiver full of arrows for my high tech bow, and medical supplies. About the only thing I couldn't replace was my armour and mask. If they got damaged I'd have to return to the mother ship.

To make things even better this was my ship and I was free to travel as I pleased as long I followed the rules (like not letting the super advanced tech fall into enemy hands) and carried out missions for the clan leader.

Apparently the females of the clan were most pleased by all the information I'd helped one of them acquire. If it was worth a whole scout ship, one built for stealth and speed, and modified for human use, then the information must have value beyond what I could understand. Still I tried to image what it could have been. Star maps perhaps? The location of Engineer bases?

Of course this meant that there were more scout ships now than could be docked with the mother ship, but upon pointing this out my teacher had informed me that it was rare for all the docks to be filled unless the whole clan was summoned for an event. Like an unblooded right of passage, but there wouldn't be another one of for years. Which meant I didn't have to return for some time.

Which suited me just fine as life on a Yuajta mother ship was either boring as hell, or overly demanding, and my mentor had been training me very intently since I'd returned from my last mission and not just on using this ship. No doubt to prepare for going solo.

His last set of instructions were to scout, hunt and to return to the clan with glory. Which I assumed meant not to come back without skulls and other cool stuff needed to show off how bad ass of a hunter he'd turned me into.

I was just checking on some of my supplies when I found something unexpected. For some reason Jubilee was hiding in a crate.

"Hello" she greeted.

This was odd because she was suppose to remain in my quarters when doing whatever it was she normally did, in case I use for her. Not that I got much use from her, but at least her body heat helped keep my bed warm.

"What the heck are you doing here?" I asked her.

She quickly explained that she couldn't take life with the Predators any more and had stowed . She'd been hoping to sneak off should I end up finding some form of human civilization.

"I'm lonely" she admitted to me "I want to met new people, get married, have children...".

With a gesture I made her shut up.

"Fine, whatever" I said "I'll find somewhere to drop you off, and if anyone asks I'll say you're dead. Not that I think they'd care enough to enquire".

The next thing I knew there was a crying woman hugging me. It was not an enjoyable experience. Well not until after she stopped crying.

(Line Break)

 **Primitive Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.**

Currently I was heading towards what seemed to be a human settlement while using my cloaking device so that no one could see me. Along the way I'd planned to kill a few things large and furry as my bed was going to need something new to keep me warn now that I'd dropped Jubilee off on one of the worlds I suppose to be scouting for the clan. I figured some nice furs would do the job, or maybe I should get a pet. Something loyal and not known for crying on people.

Not that there was proving much to scout out on these worlds or much to hunt. Every world I'd checked out had a limited human population with very primitive technology, and no technology, resources, or wildlife, or warriors worth mentioning.

The only amazing thing I'd found so far was a Stargate, Pegasus design I was sure, which at least told me what fictional universe I was currently in. It was possible that I was going to end up in a crossover comic that had the ironic twist of the Predator actually being human under all the armour.

Not that there would be much to show in this comic as I intended to avoid contact with the locals. I was going to check them out because I'd need to record how primitive they were, so that the leaders of my clan would see that they weren't worth hunting. I might not be the most charitable of souls these days, but I was human despite how much I'd embraced Yautja culture, as such I had no desire to see my fellow humans be hunted by Predators, or used as breeding stock for xenomorphs.

I suddenly stopped dead it my tracks as I'd just heard a female someone, a human most likely, screaming for help. On a whim more than anything else I decided to go and see what was wrong. I followed the female's voice to a clearing where I saw that the woman was tied to a post.

"Please someone anyone help me" the woman cried out.

No one was around as far as I could tell so I uncloaked and walked over to the human female. As I moved she sensed me coming, but she couldn't quite see me since I was coming up behind her.

"Who are you?" she wished to know.

I ignored her, and trigged my wrist blades, which I was using in place of the gauntlet claws for a change, and cut the ropes holding the woman up by her hands. The female picked herself off the ground and turned to face me. She was startled by my mask, but remembered her manners.

"Thank you for saving me" she said

I was already thinking of leaving. I really shouldn't have aided her as I was here to hunt and scout for the clan, but I hadn't been able to help myself.

"Who are you?" she asked while rubbing her sore wrists.

"You may call me Gothic" I told the woman.

"My name is Doctor Keller" she told me, without being asked "Jennifer Keller"

I figured she was, I'd seen in on her the show, weird as that was to think about, but I had no desire to mention it, and since I had nothing more to say to her, I then turned to leave.

"Wait please" the woman called out "I can't go by myself the villagers might catch me".

Wouldn't her friends notice she'd gone missing?

"Could you come with me please?" the woman begged

I considered this.

"There are things I need to do" I told the woman "I shouldn't have gotten involved".

She looked as if she had no idea what to do.

"I'm sure that my commanding officer will reward you for my safe return" she said after a few moments.

While the people of Atlantis were sure to have something I wanted, I was starting to wonder if I should go with sex. She was attractive, and it might be a while before the next mating season.

"Sex!" she yelled, after I proposed the exchange.

Wow she seemed very shocked by the idea.

"I just saved your life" I reminded the lady doctor "The people here were going to sacrifice you to the Wraith if I'm any judge. You'd think that alone would be enough".

Doctor Keller looked around.

"You want to do it here?" she asked "But the villagers might come back, with their friends, and I have to find the guards the Colonel sent with, and its dirty out here".

That was actually possible, and with numbers they could be a danger. Well not to me I'd just turn invisible, but it would make saving Keller rather pointless if I let her die.

"I have a ship nearby" I told the woman "I'll fly you to the stargate after you thank me for saving your life. Or you can try to make it back on your own".

My bed might be cold these days, but at least it was clean and reasonable comfortable. Plus my ship was fast.

Despite not really having a choice, or at least not having much of one, the lady needed time to think about what to do next. Which seemed really odd to me as it wasn't as if I was being totally unreasonable, she was a healthy female I was a healthy male. Perhaps I'd deviated much further away from a normal human than I'd imagined.

"Yeah okay" she agreed "But we'll have to be quick. I had a couple of guards with me. They might be sacrificed next".

As long as I could fuck her at least once I was happy to help, for a while at least.

(Line Break)

 **Control Room. Atlantis.**

Rodney Mckay watched as Jennifer Keller walked through the gate, and he wrapped her up in his arms when she ran to him, not noticing a first the man that came through with her. He only noticed the newcomer after Samantha Carter asked for the man's name.

"Put your hands in the air right now, and tell me who you are" Colonel Carter ordered.

While the soldiers around them had their guns pointed at the unknown man. The man himself remained silent and followed the order.

"Wait don't hurt him he saved my life" Jennifer Keller yelled "His name is Gothic".

A few more tense moments passed and then things began to calm down.

"Lower your weapons" Sam orders the soldiers, "Gothic I want you and Dr. Keller to with me".

They headed for the conference room where John Shepard's team soon joined them. After everyone had sat down, Sam Carter turned to their guest.

"Who are you?" she wished to know.

"I am Gothic" he said "Blooded warrior of the Shadow Blades Clan".

That meant nothing to anyone else so it best just to get on with matters.

"Nice to meet you" Samantha Carter said, before she turned to Jennifer Keller, "What happened on that planet, and where are your guards?".

She really couldn't thinking of anything else to ask the unexpected visitor. Besides Doctor Keller had mentioned that her life had been endanger, that seemed more important than anything else.

"When I was finished treating the survivors of the Hoffon drug, the villagers captured us and then tied me to a post to be sacrificed to a wraith that lives near the village I guess since they took me further away from the Gate not closer. I would be wraith food if Gothic hadn't come along".

Samantha Carter turned to John Shepard

"Are you ready for a rescue mission?" she wished to know.

He nodded.

"Always, just give us 10 minutes to get ready" he replied.

"I want to help" said the stranger.

"And why is that?" Carter asked.

Not that she wanted to turn away aid, she wanted to know why it was being offered.

"Mostly because I need something to report back to my superiors about possible targets for their hunts, and better they go after Wraith than you guys" he answered.

Hearing that made Carter want to ask even more questions, but that could wait. One problem at a time.

"Very well, but we'll talk about your people when you get back" Samantha Carter said.

(Line Break)

 **Primitive Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.**

We all remained silent until we'd reached the border of the village. Then we'd gathered in a circle to make a plan.

"Okay this what we will do, Ronon, Rodney, you'll enter the village from the rear and free the guards, from what the Doc told us they're being held in a store room near on the outskirts of the village. Major Lorne you and half your team will enter from the right, I'll take the other half of your team, enter from here and make some noise so everyone is focused on me. Teyla and Gothic will remain here and guard the Doc. Rodney and Ronon will bring the guards to you in case they've been injured" John Shepard said "Once the villagers realise we've taken control I'll be having a few words with who ever is running this dump".

With that everyone moved into position, leaving the Doctor and Teyla alone with me.

"I hope everyone stays safe" Jennifer said to Teyla

She sounded worried. As she should be as while the mission should be a simple one this was a John Shepard mission so there was a fifty percent chance a Hive Ship would suddenly show up.

(Line Break)

 **Primitive Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.**

"Mission complete lets head home" John said.

Things had gone well for a change. The villagers hadn't put up a fight, hardly surprising since their greatest weapon was the spear. Shepard had told them off, and the two guards had been saved. All in a days work.

Everyone followed John out of the village. When the men arrived they found Teyla on the ground with a bleeding cut on her head. John ran to her and helped her to sit up.

"What happened?" John asked

Anyone watching would see the worry on his face.

"A Wraith he came out of nowhere and I couldn't stop him" Teyla replied, still a little dazed.

Normally she could sense the Wraith, and she had been able to this time, but her abilities were far from perfect. She could still be taken by suprise.

"Where's Jennifer?" Ronon asked.

"The Wraith took her" Teyla replied "And Gothic went after them. They went that way".

(Line Break)

 **Primitive Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.**

"Its dead" I reported, once I was back outside "And there's a whole lab here in cave, hidden by a hologram".

Which hadn't fooled my bio-mask at all. The hard part had been killing the Wraith before it could feed off the nice doctor lady. I'd never expected something so human looking to put up that kind of fight. Still it was very much dead and I had its stunner pistol as a trophy. I did consider takings the space vampire's entire head, but I figured that would freak out the Atlantis people.

"You coming?" John asked after deciding to come back later with a full science team rather than investigate the cave now "I'm sure Colonel Carter will share information on the Wraith if you can tell us about your people".

Well it wasn't as if I knew anything about the Predators that could be considered classified information and the more info I brought back on the Wraith the better.

"Might as well" I said.

(Line Break)

 **Infirmary. Atlantis.**

After sharing as much information as I could, and after being given a small recording device full of information on the Wraith, which I would go over fully later. It was requested that I come to the Infirmary for some tests.

Which was fine with me. As long as they kept their mitts of my technology I was happy to share info. Perhaps a look at my biology might led to some medical discovery down the road, and I didn't all feel bad about warning them about the Yautja. I might be Predator in culture, but I was still a human being. Well mostly.

Keller took a look at the blood sample I'd provided with some sort of Ancient machine, and made some noises that might mean something good or bad. Either way it sure had her attention.

"Well whatever they did to you its really messed with your body chemistry" she told me after studying a readout "Elevated hormone levels, there's an increase in white blood cell count as far as I can tell, more so than is normal for a healthy human, but there's no sign of any infection. I don't know what it all means or how it was done".

I had some ideas.

"My thinking is some sort of transfusion of Yautja blood as well as some drugs" I said "I think they actually made me part Yautja, on some chemical level, maybe they even altered my DNA. Its just a gut feeling".

Keller switched on another machine.

"Okay let's get a full body scan going" she said "You'll have to take off your armour".

I didn't feel modesty much these days.

"Eager to get me naked again Doctor?" I asked.

She blushed slightly.

"Normal clothes don't get in the way, but you're wearing metal, and that can interfere with the scan" she explained.

Sounded reasonable.

"You know I did save your life twice" I reminded her "Perhaps later you'll pay me back".

This time she very noticeable blushed.

"I'm not that kind of woman" she said.

That's not the impression I'd gotten earlier.

"What so your the ungrateful kind?" I asked.

Keller looked around.

"Okay, but please don't tell anyone, and let's be quiet about this" she requested "I hate when people gossip about me".

Well she wasn't that quiet during sex. And while on that subject at some point during these tests I should ask about by my fertility. Just to check if I was sterile or not due to the modification work the Predators had done to me.

(Line Break)

 **Infirmary. Atlantis.**

Several weeks later Doctor Keller decided to share some news with the senior staff. It didn't go down so well.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE PREGNANT!?" Rodney McKay yelled out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author Note.**

If you like this story or any of my other works, then please consider visiting my patron to help me get the financial support I need in order to write full time.

 **Predator Gothic Part 7**

Bar. Yautja Station.

The last time I'd been here I'd not taken a chance to find out that this bar was more than a spot to hang out, and it was. The barman turned out to be some version of the BTVS character Xander Harris, complete with eye patch, bandanna and combat gear. Judging by the sheer size of him, and the way he held himself, he looked like he could go a round or two with the Punisher.

He'd already explained to me that he'd encountered a Predator while seeking a Slayer somewhere in Africa. He didn't tell me the whole story, and I got the impression that it was best not to ask, but I was soon informed that he'd ended up here due to fighting along side a Predator against some rather nasty demons.

That I'd encountered yet another 'fictional character' didn't surprise me so much as I'd long since taken in consideration that since the Yautja could travel to other dimensions that would encounter worlds normally considered to be made up because in an infinite multi-verse anything you could imagine was bound to be somewhere. Besides it was hardly the strangest aspect in my messed up excuse for a life.

"So this is a trading outpost too?" I asked "I didn't think the Predators cared much for anything that doesn't involve gathering body parts for display".

Or at least that most of them didn't. The females of my clan clearly did desire things other than trophies, but that may have been a very uncommon event.

"Most of the trade is between people like us" Harris told me "Some really advanced stuff can catch the eye of a Clan leader, but mostly just bring me useful stuff like tech, tools, rare weapons, and I'll set up with real food, booze, stuff from back home. Maybe even information. I know people who want more from this life than living under the Predators".

This sounded interesting. I wanted to hear what else he had to say.

(Line Break)

 **Training Planet. AVP Galaxy.**

Since I now had a ship which could venture to many different universes, I could be out there hunting many kinds of prey, just as my clan were no doubt off hunting Wraith, or soon would be, but rather than be allowed to go off and explore I had to deal with some distress call that I didn't at all care about. Nor was I qualified to do anything about it.

The source of the distress call was coming a world which like others happened to be a planet used by my clan as a training world. It contained no higher life forms, like large animals or what I'd consider to be people. It was used for the training of Yuatja young bloods as far as I could tell.

However some idiot humans had crashed there, and judging by the message I'd gotten, which was mostly made up of symbols rather than actual words, someone in authority wanted me to investigate what was going on here.

I wasn't sure what I was suppose to do, perhaps I was just meant to scout around and report back, or maybe I was meant to kill the humans, I didn't know and I had no intention of making up my mind about that until I had more information.

The ride here hadn't been smooth as I'd expected, and there had been some strange turbulence as the ship the atmosphere. Just as the journey was coming to an end and the ship landed itself, there had been several loud banging sounds, and a few sparks had filled the air.

I tried to use one of the 3D hologram displays by the controls, which had clearly been set up for human use since the holograms didn't give off heat. It responded by crackling with static. Something out there was responsible for the rough landing and the fact that I couldn't get a map of he planet. I wanted to find out what it was, and hopefully I'd get to blow it up.

Once outside I found myself in the middle of a coniferous forest, although the trees were far taller than any he'd ever seen on Earth, and the foliage was so thick I found myself standing in almost complete darkness. This world had four moons, but I could see none of them clearly.

For me this wasn't really an issue. My mask allowed me many types of vision so it was just a matter of blinking the right number of times so that I found myself with a form of vision that allowed me to see in this darkness without using infra-red. This left the world all shades of green, but since it was a forest it would have all been shades of green in daylight anyway.

I soon found the direction the signal was coming from. Once ready to move out I used my wrist device to cloak the ship, and then I go going. I felt secure due to my arms and armour, but I stayed cloaked anyway. Just in case the humans who'd crashed here were all jittery and had snipers about.

After about ten minutes of walking the forest I began to realise that there was something about this place that gave me a sense of uneasiness. This was added to when I discovered the source of the distress signal.

It was a crashed ship. Very much unlike the last human vessel I'd seen, but still clearly human made since it had a name on the side which was in English: _Long Haul_ it was called. Although that could just be written there to tell people that it was a long distance cargo transport. _  
_

I was no judge of space craft, human made or otherwise, but I suspected that it was a cargo transport of some sort. It was all boxy, and as I did my best to inspect the craft I saw no signs of weapon's damage so I had no idea why it had crashed. It could just be a result of pilot error.

At this point I felt slightly disappointed that the distress signal was just a crash landing, but still I was still unable to shake off this sense of unease. Also there was still something going on, something that was interfering with my ship's system.

Which meant I still had a job to do, and it was possible that the vessel had been brought down by space pirates, who I could kill. And if there were any non-bad blood humans around I could give them a lift somewhere. Either way the humans would be removed from the planet.

Before long I found an airlock hatch and while the ship had crashed, it had some power, battery backup I assumed. It was easy to open the airlock, as it had been on the last human ship I'd boarded. I had no idea why it was so easy to board human made vessels.

Once inside I figured it was best to head to the front of the top deck of the ship, since that was were humans built the command centres of their star ships in both reality and science fiction, for some reason.

The interior of the ship above the cargo decks, which I'd already seen, was something of a maze and while wandering around I hoped to find some sort communication systems so that I could contact the bridge, but just as I came across what could be a means of internal communication, there was an odd noise. Something impacting metal in an enclosed space if I had to guess, the sound hadn't been too loud, and I got the impression that it someone rather than something moving around nearby.

My initial hope was that maybe I'd discovered one of the crew, and at he or she would be happy to leave with me, however that feeling didn't last for long as it didn't make sense for the crew to be in the air vents, unless they were hiding. Either from me or from something.

I switched vision types again, but saw nothing, most likely due to the thick metals all around me. This ship had survived a crash, and was meant to carry possibly dangerous cargo so wasn't going to be made from thin sheets of steel.

When I did see something it was a creature, and it was fast, but not faster than a plasma bolt. I shot it as the life form as it came charging at me, it ten stopped moving, but that didn't tell me what it was.

It wasn't until I heard a fizzing noise that I been to figure it out. Upon closer inspection I found that I'd been both lucky and unlucky. Lucky in that I'd killed the xenomorph from a distance keeping me safe from its acid blood, and unlucky as there were fucking xenomorphs here.

Vicious and lethal, with a barbed tail, a set of razor sharp teeth, tough exoskeleton and, oh yeah, acidic blood. They were nightmares given form, and rarely did you find one alone.

To make matters worse I wasn't really equipped for a fight with the hard meat. Sure I had my combistick and plasma caster, but my stunner and sword were going to be next to useless here. Well maybe not the sword, it might have been treated with some chemical which would allow to withstand xenomorph blood. That was one of the many things my mentor may have forgotten to tell me during my training.

Also I was lacking in backup. A couple of more blooded hunters would be real welcome about now. As things were I'd have to deal with the incoming xenomorphs all by my lonesome.

I fired my plasma pistol again, and while it took a moment to recharge I took out my sword, which would be more useful in this tight spot than a spear, I swiped the blade at an incoming alien and then fired again.

More xenomorphs were now incoming, and this was then reinforcements turned up, and they had pulse rifles. What I got in terms of backup was a man with a shaved head who was now standing a couple of feet away holding a flamethrower. There were others as well. Colonial Marines, not as good as having veteran hunters, but they'd do in a pinch.

Someone moved on the other side of me, a young woman, she had long dark hair that was tied back in a ponytail, and currently she standing over the corpse of the xenomorph watching its blood melt the floor.

In her hands she held an M320 pulse rifle, which she still had pointed at the alien. I wasn't sure how I knew she was the chick in charge, but I did.

"Well, that was good timing" I said.

The woman suddenly turned to look at me, and it was an angry. She brought up the pulse rifle and pointed it at me.

"Who are you?" she yelled at me "How did you get here?"

I made a point of not arguing with people who had firearms aimed at me.

"Gothic" I answered "And I came here on my ship".

"Gothic what?" she demanded to know "What's your rank?".

Under the mask I smiled. It really was a silly name.

"No rank" I told her "I'm not part of any military".

I was surprised they thought that given that I wearing modified Predator armour while wielding a sword and plasma pistol. Well just a pistol now, xenoblood had melted the sword leaving only the handle. Still to make a xenomorph bleed that much meant the weapon had been far more deadly than it looked. The handle was still intact, perhaps I could the blade replaced with something better able to handle corrosive substances. Not that I intended to get into any more fights with the hard meat, so far I'd been lucky, but that wouldn't last forever.

"You have your own ship?" the shaven haired man with the flame thrower said.

"I do," was my reply.

The woman jabbed her gun at me.

"You'll get us off this planet and then take us wherever we want to go, you understand?".

I nodded and she didn't lower the gun, rather she continued to glare at me. Then she lowered the weapons.

"I'm Corporal Jenkins, these apes are Sanders, Hewitt and Smythes" she told me "We're Colonial marines, we were sent down by drop pods to investigate this crash, we're all that's left of three entire squad. We can't contact our ship, its suppose to be in orbit".

While on the way I'd detected no ship. Which was worrying.

"Well first things first. We'll need to find a way off this ship, and I got a bit turned around, so I'll need you to direct me" I said.

"Get off this ship?" protested one of the men "But those things are outside".

So what, they were in here too?

"Well, so's my ship," I pointed out.

"How did you get in here without them attacking you?" someone else asked.

My reply was a shrug.

"I have no idea, but I was walking through the forest for at least a quarter of hour and I didn't see anything" I answered "Maybe they were hibernating inside the ship".

Did xenomorphs do that? I just couldn't recall if I'd ever been told that.

"Alright, then let's go" the Corporal decided.

Her men were less than eager to follow.

"It's crazy! We won't last five minutes out there!" one of them protested.

Jenkins turned to glare at them.

"Well, what other choice do we have?" she asked them

They had nothing to say to that.

"How far away's your ship?" she then asked me.

It struck me then that they must really be desperate to get off this planet if they were so willing to follow a total stranger. Still while I was odd looking, I was at least human. Which meant something right now since the alternative was hanging with the xenomorphs.

"Assuming we can find the airlock I used to get in, about twenty minutes on foot" I answered "Or less if you can run".

She grinned.

"Trust me, we're fast runners" she assured me.

Soon we got moving, and that meant going past the corpse of one of the aliens.

"What are these creatures anyway?" one of the guys asked.

"Xenomorphs" I said.

Jenkins looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she said.

She must have heard of them. The users manual for the pulse rifles they carried mentioned the species.

"I've heard people call them xenomorphs" I said.

"How do you know that?" one of the men asked.

Acting causal I shrugged.

"I know a lot of stuff" I then said.

"And what exactly is a xenomorph?" I was asked.

Perhaps they'd just never seen one before and didn't recall them being mentioned by their proper name. That or these guys were using older model pulse rifles and had been out in space for a while, and as such didn't have up to date information.

"Probably one of the nastiest creatures in the universe," I told the group "I have no idea where they come from, but I do know that they are very difficult to kill, as you may have worked out. They've got a vicious temperament, acid for blood, a really horrifying methods of reproduction. Even a double sets of jaws".

That was when I spotted something unpleasant.

"Resin" I said "Or something like that. Its secreted by the xenomorphs when they're nesting".

Given the size of the ship and the fact that it hadn't crashed that long ago, this was most likely a new nest, or an extension of another one.

"This wasn't the way I came in" I was soon saying "We need to go back".

We took a different route, but we'd only gone a few paces before a moan could be heard. It was a strange, muffled kind of moan, and we all stood still for a moment after hearing it, trying to work out what it was. After a moment's silence it became clear. It was a call for help.

"It's Matthews!" one of the men yelled.

That would be the fifth member of this small squad I guessed. Five people under the command of a corporal, sounded like a military unit to me. Bu squads were suppose to be ten people under a sergeant weren't they? When had that changed.

"If he's in the nest he's as good as dead already" I told everyone "There's nothing more you can do for him. Look, I don't want to leave him there any more than you do, but if you go after him you'll only end up dead as well".

Which could solve my problem as then I could go back to my ship and simply inform my superiors of the infestation. Then some experienced hunters could come in and sort things out.

"Does that sound like he's dead to you?" Jenkins yelled "He's still alive and I'm going to get him out of there!"

I followed, but kept my distance. Just in case this was an ambush.

"Son of... !" I heard the man with the flamethrower yell out as he directed a burst of flame at the creature which had just burst out of Matthew's chest.

The alien screeched as it was chargrilled, but then even louder shrieks sounded from somewhere deeper into the nest.

"We need to get out of here!" I shouted "As in right the fuck now!".

The five of us turned and began to run back the way we come, but there was the sound of movement in front of us and well as behind. Which meant we had xenomorphs blocking our way. They'd trapped us, and now they were coming in for the kill.

Sounds of Pulse rifle filled the air, and the aliens shrieked and slowed down a little as their acid blood was spilled, but it didn't stop them.

"Don't let those things get near you!" I shouted

Despite being slowed down somewhat, a swarm of xenomorphs quickly replaced those that had fallen and began to make up the distance. We might win this fight given our fire power, but I was sure we'd lose people.

(Line Break)

 **Training Planet. AVP Galaxy.**

"This way!" I shouted.

There were only two marines left at this point. The Corporal and a guy who didn't have a flamethrower. That guy had covered our escape, blowing himself up in the process. Which had been all heroic and awesome.

"Are you sure?" Jenkins shouted as she and he other marine ran after me.

Not really as something seemed to be jamming my homing signal.

"Don't worry we'll find it" I assured the marines.

Somehow.

"Not the most convincing thing I've ever heard," Jenkins commented.

The shrieks of the xenomorphs were now reaching us, which put a quick end to any debate.

(Line Break)

 **Training Planet. AVP Galaxy.**

Despite knowing we had to keep moving, we were all too stunned by what we saw next to just simply run past it.

"Well, I definitely didn't pass this on my way in," I said, "Perhaps this was the wrong way".

I looked up at the strange dark stone building in front of me. It wasn't human made that was for sure, it seemed wrong, too alien. It was a massive pyramid, which were rare enough on Earth, and it was somehow far more sinister looking than what the Aztec and Egyptians had ever built.

"This is alien made" I muttered.

"You're not telling me that these xenomorph creatures are capable of building something like that?" Jenkins asked.

I shook my head.

"No it's the yautja who made this," I said "But not the group I work with, well for. This group are using humans to breed the xenomorphs as prey. Any that they can get to land here. Hence the distress call sent by no one that leads right into a new xenomorph nest. The cargo ship was lured here too I'd bet".

My mind was now racing. Could this place contain whatever it was that was preventing me from easily getting back to ship, or from sending out a distress call.

"We have to get out of here as soon as possible," I was now saying, "I need to report this back to the adjudicators. What they're doing definitely isn't legal, and if another clan is behind this then this could be the start of a war between...".

Jenkins interrupted me.

"Honestly, I don't care about reporting it," she said, "I'd just like to survive it. Now, do you know which is the right way yet?".

Because I was looking around I was the first to notice the three pinpoints of red light that had just appeared on the forehead of the male marine who was either Sanders, Hewitt or Smythes. Not that it mattered for long.

"Fuck!" I yelled.

I had no time to do or say anything else as the man's head exploded in a shower of gore. I turned and fire at what only I could see, and the Yuajta fell out of the tree.

Since I'd grabbed my Wraith stunner rather than plasma pistol the shot only dazed it I figured, because it was soon moving, if sluggishly, however clearly it was now visible to the naked eye as Jenkins soon avenged her team mate by shooting the Predator, she emptied a whole clip into the hunter, and for sure human made weapons had improved, as the hunter killed was in a very bloody display of fire power in short order.

Sure that hunter had been a fool, it should have killed me first and then come down to the ground to finish off the two humans, but still that had been too easy.

Upon closer inspection I found this hunter had no clan mark, few trophies, and had left its chest exposed. Age was hard to tell, but I deduced that this was a novice warrior who'd come in overconfident and underestimated humans. As Predators had before, and would likely do again.

"Come on we need to disable that signal and get to my ship" I said.

Jenkins followed, she looked to be somewhat in shock, all glassy eyed. Hopefully she'd snap out of it soon, otherwise she'd get herself killed.


	8. Chapter 8

Predator Gothic Part 8

Pyramid. Training Planet.

"Come on, let's take a look around" I said "I need to figure out what is happening on this planet".

Actually I already had a fair idea of what the sodding hell was going on around here, the clue was that the the pyramid didn't look new, my guess was that in times past my clan had used this place for the rite of passage hunt, bringing in sacrifices from elsewhere, but had since abandoned it, or at the very least just hadn't used it for a while.

Someone was using it now. Whatever was jamming my mask, preventing me from following the beacon back to my ship, was magnified here, to the extent that I had to switch to what a human would call normal vision just so I could see.

"If there's more of those xenomorph things around I'd rather not" Jenkins protested.

While I understood her reasoning. I didn't agree with it. The xenomorphs weren't the real danger here. It was the Predators we needed worry about.

"We might find something useful inside," I said in an attempt to try and convince her. "The yautja are a hunter species, and this looks like something they would use base during a hunting season. If they use this planet to initiate young bloods they might have weapons and armour stored here, or maybe whatever they're using to prevent me from finding my ship is controlled from deeper inside. If I can disable it we can find my ship and even call for help".

Which might be dishonourable, but I was pretty sure that this wasn't my clan we were dealing with and the Predators had a system in place for dealing with disputes. An arbitrator was needed.

"They must be importing the xenomorph eggs, unless.."

I trailed off as something occurred to me.

"Unless what?" Jenkins prompted.

I actually felt my body shiver. It was a very human reaction.

"Unless they've already got a queen here already" I replied "Maybe right here".

Her eyes widened slightly.

"A queen? You mean a xenomorph queen? That sounds bad" she said.

I nodded.

"A queen is what lays the eggs that will, with the unwilling help of a host grow, into a xenomorph. That's what happened to your friend Mattews. The yautja capture them in order to provide prey for future hunts, and if this planet really is infested with xenomorphs then there's probably a queen around somewhere to provide the eggs".

Jenkins thought about this for a few moments.

"You mean there's probably a super-version of those xenomorph things somewhere in this building right now? And you think we'll be safer in here than we are out there?" she asked.

Actually yes.

"If there is one somewhere in here it's probably kept locked up in chains. The yautja don't really care about how they treat the creatures they hunt. If they did they wouldn't hunt them" I said "Not that I worry about a xenomorph's feelings. In my view the whole species needs to be wiped out".

With nukes from orbit, it was the only way to be sure.

"Are you sure that going in deeper inside is good idea?" the marine asked "I mean, we don't even know what's in there".

I started walking, and the marine followed.

"How exactly is it you know so much about these xenomorphs and yautja?" Jenkins asked me

My face was hidden by my mask, a mask that didn't look too much like one worn by a Predator, which was good because if she'd been able to read my expression she never would have let the matter drop.

"Is this an armoury?" I needlessly asked.

We began looking around the room we'd just found.

"Looks like it," the marine said before walking over to a row of plasma guns that were hung up on the wall "Nice guns".

She reached out to take one, but I stopped her.

"If you remove any of the guns the Yuatja will come after us" I told her "They are fussy about their tech failing into alien hands, so these will be alarmed in a sense".

She then eyed the weapons on the walls, and the ones I was carrying.

"Then where you'd get your stuff?" she wished to know.

I couldn't avoid this forever.

"The yautja are made up of clans just like humans have nations" I explained "I was brought into a clan, not by choice mind you, and they gave me my weapons. But this clan is a different group with different rules and values so I can't just take their tech. They would hunt us endlessly to get it back, and they'd kill anyone and anything that got in their way. They might even use WMDs just to be sure that their technology is never used against them".

Jenkins needed more time to think.

"Fucking great. So the only weapons we can take out of here without attracting their attention would be a few knives and some sticks with a pointy things on the end?" she said, sounding annoyed.

Those would be spears. Combi-sticks in fact. The _Combistick_ was telescopic, making it relatively small and easy to store when not in use, but it can be extended to its full length when required, normally when used in combat. It was made of incredibly light, sharp, thin but strong material. There were versions, such as mine, that were proof even against the acid blood of the Kainde Amedha.

"I don't know, it depends how you use them," I said casually, while picking up one of the combi-sticks and examining it to see if it was different than my own "In the right hands this is very deadly weapons and I'm sure there's some stuff we could take from round here without them noticing. If not then, we'll have to improvise".

Before long I found what seemed to be the controls for the jammer. Once I took that down the other hunters would know for sure that we were here, but it would allow me to call my clan. It was possible that they were on their way even now, but I couldn't know for sure what was going on and seemed unlikely that they knew either. As such sending them the footage from my mask would help clear things up.

After I'd taken down the jamming and had sent off the signal I found that I was able to locate my ship. There was a chance that this rival clan had a mother ship in orbit, something must have destroyed the Colonial Marine's ship, so I couldn't just take off but it should be safer to wait things out on my vessel.

Next I took a few of what had to be some sort of grenades. Hopefully I wouldn't have to use them, but someone I doubted I'd be so lucky. Then I started to look at an array of small metal discs that were laid out on a table by the door. Each was a semi circle with a base. Could be landmine of some sort. Some tribes must have weapons unknown to me given that the clans hunted in different galaxies or even universes a times.

I soon found out what the devices did when I threw one at the doorway we'd used to enter this room. I did that because I'd heard the hiss of a xenomorph and had seen them coming on a monitor of sorts the Predators had set up in here for some reason.

There turned out to be two of the creatures, and I was about to open fire as they came at us, only for them to fall into segments as they lept through the air.

"Okay odd" I commented.

Upon closer inspection I realised the mines deployed a very thin, but incredibly sharp wire. The xenomorphs had failed to sense the trap and their blood had no effect on the mine's wires. They'd only started to bleed after falling to pieces it seems, they'd died very quickly. As a bonusI was able to safely recover the mine as it retracted the wires after a short amount of time.

Seeing the blood gave me an idea. I quickly used my ceremonial dagger to cut off the claw of very dead xenomorph.

"Jenkins" I said "Come here I'm going to mark you as part of my clan. Adopt you into it. That just might stop the Yuatja from killing you".

That hunter which had killed last remaining male marine might have spared me because it somehow knew I was part of another clan. If that was then it might work that way again.

"Of course it might just make you a bigger target" I then realised "But its worth the risk".

She back away hurriedly.

"I've seen that blood melt through the deck plating of a star ship" she said.

Her concern was valid, so as to assure I took my mask and showed her my mark.

"After I killed my first xenomorph I was marked as a blooded warrior just like this" I told the marine "That allows me to take an apprentice and you've killed a yautja and a xenomorph so you're more than qualified. The mark will scar, but you can it have it removed later".

She bravely withstood the pain. And once I was done I pocked the claw. It would look good hanging from a bandoleer, not the xenomorph tail and chain one. Another thinner one that would allow me display smaller trophies, but that was something to think about later. Right now what need worry was that three Predators were on their way here.

"Remove all your weapons" I ordered "They can't hurt us if we're unarmed its against the honour code. Please trust me on this".

She did as she was told, not right away of course, and she tossed the rifle aside, she then laid her sidearm and combat issue knife on the ground, I was doing the same just as the door on the far side of the room opened.

The yautja advanced forward several paces and then stopped just a couple of yards in front of us. There were a few seconds of confrontational silence between us, which was then broken by me

"I take it you're the ones who've been bringing the xenomorphs here to hunt," I said, sounding confident and not at all afraid, despite not feeling that way at all "I am Gothic, Blooded Warrior of the Shadow Blades Clan".

There was a strange clicking sound from behind the mask of one of the yautja who took a step forward to stand in front of the others, but there didn't seem to be any more of a response from them. That was when I remembered that I wasn't wearing my mask so I didn't get a translation.

"We aren't armed: you can't kill us" I said after donning my mask "That would go against your code of honour"

The three hunters simply stood their ground as animated as statues.

"We'll leave you to your hunt if you grant us safe passage back to my ship" I offered "My clan will know what is happening by now, but you can just leave as well, or finish your hunt as you please. But killing us won't aid you either way".

The leader of the three Predators just stared at me for a while. Then it grunted in what might have been amusement.

"You know our ways, and you were trained by a good clan. It truly would have been an honour to hunt you, Oooman" said their leader "I grant you both safe passage, and will allow your ship to leave. I can not control the Hard Meat so do not leave this place unarmed".

With that they just left, having no other choice really.

(Line Break)

"So that's you ship" Jenkins said "I like it, its bigger than I expected, and I bet you've never heard a woman say that to you before".

I flashed her a grin.

"Just wait until you see inside," I said while opening the door "Not many humans have seen what's inside a Yautja craft. Not while alive anyway".

She followed me in and, as expected, her mouth fell open in surprise as she saw the interior. It was after all an alien space ship. Plus my trophy case was open. No human skulls of course, but by now I had a few things that would impress the right kind of female. And of course my weapons were on display. They were far more impressive.

"You're very odd" Jenkins told me.

I shrugged.

"Well, I guess I am just a bit different to most people" I said.

At this point I was still grinning.

"Just a bit" Jenkins said "You're a total freak, just in a good way".

Hearing that made me chuckle.

"I can't disagree with that," I said as I led her to what passed for a cockpit for this ship "Right then, where should I take you to?".

While I should make some sort of formal report to the clan. My mask recording should already tell them everything they needed to know. As such there was no real rush to return to the mothership.

"Well, away from here would be nice," she replied.

No argument there.

"I know, but where to exactly?" I asked "I guess I could find you a human held world nearby".

Her smile suddenly faltered, and she frowned slightly.

"I just lost an entire team" she said "Somehow I don't think my superiors would be too pleased to see me right now"

An understatement really. And she didn't seem that upset over losing them, which meant either she'd not gotten attached, or she was used to fellow soldiers dying in combat.

"You're a slayer of yautja and xenomorphs? I don't think your superiors could handle you," I joked, "But in all seriousness, I can take you to places very far away where not one knows about the Colonial Marines. You could start over, and there's no rush really. I've taken you as an apprentice so the Yuatja of my clan have to accept you. At least for a while".

She nodded.

"You've just saved my life so I guess I owe it to you. And even if you didn't. Well I have no idea where to go" she said.

She could come with me, for a while at least.

"I probably ought to say thank you too; you and your men did save my life" I reminded her.

My end would have come on that crashed cargo ship if the marines hadn't of saved me when I was suppose to be saving them, or maybe I'd been meant to kill them. Best not to mention that.

"What about you? Have you got a home to go to now?" she asked

She seemed slightly concerned, as if she was worried about something, when really she should be happy. She had survived.

"This ship is my home" I told her while touching a nearby wall.

Everything I owned was stored within this ship or carried on my person.

"Room for one more?" Jenkins asked.

Well there was only one bed. Which I soon mentioned and this just made her laugh.

"What's your first name?" I asked the marine.

"Bonny. Its Bonny Jenkins" she told.

I bit my lip to stop myself from sniggering, which she couldn't see since I was wearing my mask. However she guessed well how I was reacting.

"Laugh and I be talking your bed and kicking you out of it" she warned "Now do you have a shower in this tub".

Actually I did. After all it had been kitted out with humans in mind.

(Line Break)

Trophy Room. Mother Ship.

While his name was not 'teacher' or 'mentor' and they were not his titles either, they were good enough labels for the Yautja who escorted the human known as Gothic into the trophy room.

Mentor had never brought the human here, he'd never shown his student the prized trophies of the Hunts undertaken by the clan's greatest members, either in groups or alone.

Until now the teacher not considered the human to be worthy of the honour, and he still wasn't totally convinced that Gothic could fit a true understanding of what honour meant within his small furry head. He'd never imagined he'd have to try.

The Ancients back on the home world wished for the clans to better understand those they would hunt. Perhaps the worried that the Yautja culture had endured for too long without change. Species that did not change, and adapt died out. However races that changed too much lost sight of who they were. Hopefully his clan would remember that.

Prey or not, hunter or not, his student had done well recently. Uncovering the dishonourable actions of a lesser clan. An Elite such as himself would have attempted to correct the slight against the clan more directly, but allowances had to be made for Oomans, they didn't fully understand the proper way of doing things.

Some Ooman emotions were hard to read for Yautja, fear and anger were easy to see, Gothic's reaction to the history and glory around him was something else.

They were surrounded by the best trophies taken from centuries worth of Hunts. Hard Meat skulls of both drone and queen had pride of place, and no two were the same. Ooman skulls were far less common since the Shadow Blades rarely hunted that race. Also there were tusks, horns, fangs, claw and even weapons taken from many races as well.

The Predator sometimes known as mentor let his student, who had so far been wise enough not to touch any of these relics, study the displays in the hopes the he would understand, and perhaps even dare to dream of adding to the collection.

After a while it became time for training and Teacher called his student out of the room before carefully sealing it so that the trophies were as protected as they could be. Perhaps one day his student would see that room again, and hopefully not a trophy himself.

As for the female he'd recently brought back, well the others weren't going to like having soft meat cluttering up the ship so hopefully they wouldn't stay on the clan's craft for too long. Otherwise some hot headed unblooded might challenge him, and Mentor had no desire to find out that way how well he'd trained his student.

He'd marked the female as a member of the clan, something any blooded warrior could do if justified in doing so. That was worrying to Mentor because she had not been trained as Gothic had, and she might dishonour him and the Teacher by extension. Another good reason for them to sent away in order to scout as the Clan Leaders had decided.

The entire Clan, every Hunter they could gather at short notice, some were very far away, would be off soon to hunt the creatures known as The Wraith, that would a least give them all something to focus on. If the gods willed it there would be honour and glory for all.

(Line Break)

Training Room. Mother Ship.

As it turned out my mentor was not broken up by the loss of his sword. He'd taken the handle and had replaced the blade with metal resistant to xenoblood before returning it to me.

And this was very good because now he was trying to kill me with another sword while I defended myself with the restored sabre. Well he wasn't actually trying to kill me, he was trying to prepare me for when someone did try to kill me.

So far I'd managed to avoid having to fight a Yautja so far, but that could change, and most likely would even with my efforts to avoid antagonising them.

"Your female's armour will be ready" soon my teacher said as we took a short break "Then you should depart and scout out more worlds for the clan as soon as the Clan Leader allows. By telling us about the Wraith and uncovering the dishonourable actions of the Sharp Tusk clan, you have won much glory, but there are those who will simply never accept humans in the clan. It is best to keep your distance".

He might not train me as regularly as he used to, but still I listen to his sage council.

"Yes, sir" I replied "I plan to hunt and explore faraway".

My mentor nodded, always a surprisingly human gesture, and then turned as Jenkins, or Bonny as I knew her, entered the room. Despite having her face covered in a modified Predator mask I knew it was her because her armour had been made to hug her curves, and no one else I knew carried a pulse rifle slung over a shoulder.

I knew that she'd been modified in some ways that simply couldn't be seen with the naked eye. My own test results, gathered by Jennifer Keller on Atlantis, had proved to inconclusive, but she was sure something had been done to me, and I knew it had because I could feel it. Jenkins now might be different than the woman I'd gotten to know.

"You manage to make Yautja look sexy" I commented.

My mentor burst out laughing, again a surprisingly human thing to, as he walked out of the room.

"Sexy?" she asked "Really? I don't feel sexy".

Since I didn't know what to say to her about that I just shrugged, and she sighed.

"Come on let's go hunt some monsters" she then said.

Now that was something I could do. But first we had some rules to go over. Also she was going to need some training. Hopefully her time spent as a Colonial Marine would help with that.


	9. Chapter 9

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 9**

 **Quarters. Mother Ship**

"So how come there aren't any girl Predators on the ship" the marine wondered as we discussed the Yautja as part of the lessons I was giving her "Or are they all girls or something?. Seems like I'm the only woman around".

While the question was oddly phrased I understood what she meant.

"I can't be certain, but I think the Clan's Leader consider females to be annual diversion, and that mating is season is short-term reward for worthy warriors who have proven themselves in a long season of battles and hunts. My mentor mentioned recently that the Eldest and often most traditional-minded leaders, think that having breeding females and pups in permanent residence on the clan ship had too much potential to distract the clan's warriors. That is it would reduce their drive to better themselves as hunters by sharpening their skills".

Thankfully they didn't expect me to go a year without female company.

"On the other hand this whole hunting thing could just be the females way of getting the menfolk off their planet while they go about running their civilization" I went on to say "I really don't know enough about them to say for sure. And I've been told that some clans don't divide by gender. Despite being a species of hunters as far as outsiders are concerned, they are actually a complex people made up of many similar, but not identical clans".

Really it was all very confusing.

"Its works for them" I was now saying "But they don't expect us to follow the same rules".

That would be awful. I needed regular sex damn it.

"So anything I should know?" Jenkins asked

I would go over many such matters once we were on one of the training worlds, but there were a few things I should go over now.

"Yes you need to know the rules of the hunt" I told her "Because if you break them you'll be in big trouble as you'll be hunted down and killed kind of trouble".

I let that sink in for a moment.

"Rule 1. Hunting Worthy Game: When hunting, the hunter must be sure that his or her prey is considered game, and lawful to kill. Sometimes the hunter will equal the odds to make it fair game, such as not using a Plasmacaster or some other weapon. Worthy game must fill the following criteria: it must be able defend itself and it must be able to kill the hunter. So humans with knives and guns are fine, but an unarmed human is not a valid target for a hunter".

This wasn't hard for Jenkins to grasp as she was a solider. I was sure that not gunning down civilians was one of the first lessons she'd had drilled into her.

"Also anything or anyone you hunt needs be of age. Killing children and the elderly is considered the height of bad manners by the Yuatja. Add to that you can't kill pregnant women, or someone weakened by diseases, although why anyone would want to is a mystery to me. However if someone weakened by disease attacks you, its okay to kill them".

The Predators must need these rules to stop them going over board during hunts. Whoever had set up this code of behaviour clearly had some sense of real honour and didn't just pay it lip service like so many others.

"Rule 2. Failing in the Hunt: Should the hunter fall he or she usually takes his own life, preferring to die in honour than to live in shame. However, some cowards prefer to live in obscurity rather than die. This is considered to be dishonorable and suicide is then "assisted" by an Arbitrator. What this means is if possible we'll kill ourselves to avoid capture or die trying to escape rather than let ourselves be locked up.

"Rule 4. Murder of Another Hunter: To kill another Hunter intentionally, this excludes self-defense and killing a foe in a wrestling match to settle a dispute, is murder".

"Rule 5. Never harm the innocent: That's in many ways an extension of rule 1 which is about not hunting children, pregnant women, or any pregnant life form I guess, as well as the sick and the elderly. But I think this rule is about when your not hunting".

"Rule 6. Hunting Animals: When hunting for food, take only the weak. Which I guess means the elderly in this case or the slowest of a herd. Again targeting offspring and mothers would be considered bad. Animals like wolves or bears are also valid targets since they are always armed in a sense, but they must be a threat to the hunter".

Which they most likely would since apex predators don't take kindly to trespassers within their domains.

"Rule 7. Joining Another Hunt: Do not join another's Hunt, or Hunt in their territory, without their permission. All trophies taken in this manner are stolen trophies, and the theft shall be dealt with by the rightful owner, normally with some sort of honour duel".

Which could be a fight to the death.

"Rule 8. Reward Equals. As I understand it if say a human defeats you in a fair fight you either have to kill yourself, or give them a token of respect. I don't understand which your suppose to chose or why. Perhaps just a matter of your own personal ethics, or it might depend on how your defeated. I'll have to ask my Teacher for more details".

I gave Jenkins a moment to absorb that information.

"Those are the main rules. There are also some customs such as taking an apprentice. Yautja Young Bloods are normally taught in groups, but a worthy human, such as yourself, who is adopted into a Clan is always taken as an apprentice by either a Blooded Warrior or a hunter of equal of greater rank. Just as I was".

I had more to say.

"Anyway who ever breaks the code are renegades, AKA bad bloods and are no longer considered to be real hunters. They are to be destroyed when encountered" I informed Jenkins.

This was when my Mentor entered my room. He actually knocked first and waited to be let in. Which was strangely polite for a member of his species. He even waited for me to put my mask on before speaking.

"The Clan Leader wishes to see you" was all he said.

I had no idea what this could be about. All I could do was instruct Jenkins to wait here for me.

(Line Break)

Bridge. Mother Ship.

While I'd known that the clan's main vessel had a bridge of sorts, I'd not actually thought I'd be allowed to step foot within it. I'd never understood what it exactly I was to these aliens, but clearly I'd never been seen as any sort of equal, yet here I was giving a briefing to the leaders of the clan.

Out of all the Predators here one mattered more than most, and he was the Clan Leader, his tendrils were were a lighter shade of grey than those of my teacher, and his armour had an odd style to it, nothing human made that was for sure. He carried only weapon that I could see, a mace the likes of which I hadn't seen outside of the Assassin Creed games. It could have been wielded by Ezio Auditore.

The Clan Leader sat on a throne, which could be considered a captain's chair on the bridge of a star ship, although I doubted any humans sat in a captains chair that had such cruel looking spikes coming out of the back of it. And I very much doubted that other captain's chair had skulls on spikes. Well maybe the Dark Eldar did, but I really hoped that they were in fact totally fictional and even if they weren't that no Yautja would go to that fucked up excuse for a universe.

Off to the side, in another small and plainer looking throne, more of a fancy chair really, was the clan's elder, he was not an Ancient, not a leader, but he was old. For reasons unknown to me older Yautja tended to turn grey all over, however this Predator looked more as if someone had covered him in a fine layer of flour. I suspected that he was more than a thousand years old.

He was an advisor according to my mentor, a storyteller as well who had never risen to the rank of Clan Leader, but was still considered a honourable hunter. Perhaps he'd simply never wanted the burden of command. Not every hunter could become a clan leader.

There were others here as well. The Clan had both a weapon's master, an older Yautja who created, maintained and repaired our weapons, or at least helped others too, and a trophy master who did the same for our trophies. Real hunters took care of their own stuff, but when they needed help doing so they turned to these two masters of their crafts.

"The Wraith are a vampiric hive-based species that harvest the 'life-force' of other humanoid beings for nourishment" I told the leaders "Humans in the Pegasus galaxy, who are primitive and defenceless, live in constant fear of the Wraith, who return periodically to cull their human herds. After taking their fill, the Wraith hibernate for centuries, watched over by a group known as the Keepers, before they wake up centuries and feed again".

All of which was true. Granted some human groups had weapons that would make them worthy prey in the eyes of the Yautja, but I wouldn't tell any of the hunters about them. Mostly because I didn't want them to go looking for Atlantis. Best they stay focused on the Wraith.

"First tell us of this new hunting ground" ordered the Clan Leader "Then we will speak of the new prey".

I could do that.

"Well after arriving in the Pegasus galaxy with their city ship, which was called Atlantis, the Ancients, a very old race that looks much like my own, found this galaxy to be lifeless, so they transformed worlds and seeded many planets with humans who are still around long after the Ancients went away" I told the Predators "From what I've been able to find out on one of the planets the Ancients seeded human life on there were these creature called the Iratus bug, which began feeding on the humans. Eventually, these bugs began to take on advantageous human characteristics, such as larger brain mass, bipedal locomotion, and opposable thumbs".

No one questioned that, which was odd given that they must know far more about biology than I did. Perhaps science was the domain of the females alone. At least in this clan.

"A great amount of time passed between the seeding of worlds, and the war between the Wraith and the Ancients, which began for reasons I was unable to discover" I said next "What does matter is that the Wraith went to war with the Ancients and fed upon the humans of the Pegasus Galaxy. Somehow the Wraith had become advanced enough for interstellar travel, but I don't understand how".

Again no one seemed to care enough to discuss it.

"The Ancients were far more advanced than the Wraith, with one Ancient warship being able to inflict massive damage on several Hive ships at once with their devastating Drone weapons, while at the same time suffering little to no damage themselves due to their powerful shield technology" I was now saying "At first, the Wraith were at a major disadvantage against the advanced warships of the Ancients who, in their overconfidence, began to send their warships deeper into Wraith territory. The Wraith, after a period of time and with great cost to themselves, managed to capture several of these vessels and obtain devices called Zero Point Modules, which are power sources far greater than anything humans can make. Using these incredible power sources, the Wraith began creating a cloning facility which they used to increase their numbers giving them a much needed advantage and allowing them to permanently turn the tide of war in their favour".

If I didn't know better I'd say the Yautja were hanging on my every word.

"The Ancients began to slowly fall back, the greater numbers of Wraith wearing down the superior defences of the Ancients. This war continued for years, decades, maybe even centuries, until the great city ship Atlantis was all that remained of their empire. From that point it was only a matter of time before Atlantis fell, and according to the humans I spoke with the Ancients sank their finally city and vanished. Since then the Wraith have dominated this galaxy. Feeding on the humans at will, and destroying any who advance far enough to be considered a threat".

I paused for a moment, thinking about what to say next. I didn't bother to mention how the Wraith looked since Yautja didn't see colours they saw heat, so for example telling them that the Wraith had white hair wouldn't mean anything.

"The Wraith do not inhabit plants like humans do" I informed the hunters "They live on their ships, the largest of which are called Hive Ship, which do sometimes land on worlds and remain at rest for centuries. However now they are all active and are fighting each other over territory and food".

Thankfully no one asked me why this was, because it was a very long story, and I didn't want to have to tell it.

"They also have smaller ships called cruisers, and their Hive Ships carry many small fighter craft" I added "Which could be a threat to this ship just through sheer numbers".

After being command to speak more about this species I went on to explain, in less fanciful terms, that as a species the Wraith have a social structure similar to that of ants or other hive/nest-based creatures, with distinct physiological differences between castes of Wraith, tailored to facilitate different functions within the society. Later I mentioned that they also possess powerful telepathic abilities. I also told the Predators about the great physical strength, of Wraith as well as their physical agility and their healing abilities. All of which just made the Yautja more excitable.

"The majority of Wraith seem to be male" I was soon saying "The few females there are take the role of 'Queens'. Beneath the Queens are workers, soldiers and drones. The lowest of the Wraith are different than the others lack intelligence, they are larger and much more muscular. The thinner males command them. While they are smaller those males are much smarter, they are still superior in strength speed, and agility to all but the most fearsome of human warriors".

I let this information sink in.

"This Queen would be the most worthy of prey if she commands so many" the Clan adviser said.

"She has powers of the mind" I warned "I don't know their limits, and she will be very cunning. She will be guarded by warriors and I'm sure she will sense anyone who tries to hunt her".

This news seemed to please the Yautja.

"What weapons do they use?" the Clan Leader asked me.

I tapped the stunner I'd taken from lone encounter with the not so friendly life sucking aliens.

"They use stun weapons since they prefer to take their prey alive to question, or to later feed up" I answered "These stunners as they are called come in pistol form and as a larger rifle. The Wraith have been known to use weapons such as grenades and even blades, but only rarely".

This was just the start of a much more detailed discussion between the leaders of the Clan that I felt was going to last hours, and that I'd have to stick around to answer a lot more questions.

(Line Break)

Bridge. Mother Ship.

The holographic projection, which was now taking up a lot of the free space here in the ship's command centre, seemed less like a diagram of hostile space ship, and more a work of art.

It was transparent to an extent allowing me to see different symbols, which represented the different kinds of life on board. There was even a symbol for the captured humans on board, they were a cool blue on the display, as well as stationary in terms of movement, and so I assumed they were cocooned.

I wondered if it was more impressive to see this display in heat. The Yautja saw heat as I saw light, but while my mask allowed me to see as they did I had no eye for the fine details they could see in the world of heat. As such I viewed the light the hologram emitted and only felt the heat.

Certain parts of the hologram were rather hot, while others were cold, it wasn't hard to figure out why. The hot spots were places of interest within the Hive ship. I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing, but if I had to hazard a guess, they were what passed for a bridge, the queen's chambers and that bit at the back had to be the hyperdrive engine.

Soon my attention was taken away from the hologram as the Clan Leader now was speaking. The old hunter, who was the only Yautja I'd ever seen to wear a cloak, was going over the plan.

The mother ship had already found a Hive Ship, the very one we'd been studying for a while now. For reasons of their own the Wraith had parked their massive vessel in orbit over a world totally lacking in life, perhaps they were undergoing repairs, or hiding from a hostile faction of other Wraith, but what matter to us was the the prey could leave soon and while the Yautja had great sensors I got the impression that tracking a ship through hyperspace wasn't something they could do.

As such we were going to attack soon. The clan ship would de-cloak, and fire only a few shots, targeting the other vessel's engines and weapons. Before firing again once it had repositioned in order to take out the Hive Ship's remaining weapons.

This should be enough to disable the Hive ship without out right destroying it. As the weapons fired the Clan Elder, along with two of the Clan's most elite hunters, would be sent at the Hive Ship within boarding torpedoes of some kind. In all the confusion they might not be noticed.

During the time after the first round of fire, when the secondary weapons were being targeted and destroyed, a team of three elite hunters would also be sent using boarding torpedoes and they would head for what passed for a bridge on the Hive. As I understood it they were being sent to capture a high ranking Wraith. I assumed that the Clan leaders wanted more information, smart since all my info on the Wraith was from Atlantis and their knowledge was incomplete.

The Hive would most likely launch all of its darts, and those darts would chase the Predator craft. While that was going on. Myself, along with Bulk and Skull, the three least experienced hunters on board, would take my scout ship, which was built for stealth and speed, and enter the Hive while the bay doors were open.

Then the Clan ship would led the darts away from the Hive Ship giving the Hunters time to complete their tasks, before simply disappearing, which should led to the Hive recovering its darts, thus reopening the hanger bay door. During which time we'd leave on board my small craft.

It sounded simple enough, but I knew from experience how rare it was for things to actually go to plan.

(Line Break)

Dart Bay. Hive Ship.

You'd think being parked within a massive alien vessel, one that was filled with creatures that would happily drain the life out of me, would be a terrifying experience. So far it was proving to be rather dull as Jenkins and I, she didn't like me using her first name, waited here for the Predators so that we could all leave this ship together.

"Okay they're on their way here by the looks of things" I said to Jenkins "I've got eight Yautja life signs all heading our way".

Assuming everything went as well as it already was, the mother ship should vanish soon, and the darts would be recalled, thus opening the hanger bay. If that worked out like that or not was something we'd soon all find out.

"Correct that nine Yautja and one Wraith. Seems like one of the Elite Hunters is carrying a Wraith, its hard to tell their life signs keep merging".

I was go glad that this mission would be over soon. There weren't many Wraith life signs left, due to heavy infighting more than the Predators, but still the vampire alien had more than enough numbers to overwhelm us should they get organised. Thankfully most of the warriors were out in the darts right.

As for my part in this mission, aside from play taxi driver, all I'd had to do was plant a small device, a homing device I assumed, somewhere within the Hive Ship. Which had taken seconds since there was so many places to hide something the size of a coin on this flying bugs nest.

"So we take the hunters back and go off for some training?" Jenkins asked.

I nodded.

"Yep it will be just you and me" I told her "With only animals to hunt, no xenomorphs, no yautja and no wraith".

Jenkins may have smiled at me. It was impossible to know due to the mask.

"Good" she said.

And that was all she had to say on the matter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 10**

 **Frontier World. AVP Universe**

"So where are we going?" Jenkins asked.

After spending a lot of time together (it was pointless trying to keep track of how long since we'd moved from planet to planet and all worlds had their own day and night cycles) you'd think the colonial marine and I would be on a first name basis. But she hated anyone using her first name and since there was normally only ever the two of us around it seemed silly to use names at all. Not that this meant we weren't close. My student, for lack of a better term, spent a lot of time fucking, when we weren't training, hunting or exploring. It was an odd sort of relationship, not really romantic, but neither was it purely physical.

"The Clan Leader sent me a message" I informed the former solider "He thinks there's something odd going on around here. A Yautja clan has been spotted in the area, but he doesn't know why they are in this part of the galaxy, they might be allowed by the Elders, but this world is close to several worlds claimed by our clan. It could be the Tusks again, the clan we encountered when we first met, or another group of rivals. Anyway there are humans here, its a frontier world and we're best suited to get some information from them".

On the account of not being scary looking mother-fuckers.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm heading to the colony for a drink" I told Jenkins "Its a frontier colony so they're bound to have some use for the kind of junk I collect".

I very much doubted that what passed for credit cards in this universe and time were of much use out here on the very edges of human civilization. And I'd some chances to acquire good of value, mostly junk and some human weapons. Out here they were worth a lot.

"Aren't we looking for information" the marine wondered "And don't we have drinks on the ship".

Yeah but they were watered down Yautja drinks.

"But they always have me on my ass by the second mouthful" I replied "For one I'd like to finish a bottle before passing out".

We both laughed as we remembered the first time we'd tried to make Yautja booze more drinkable via watering it down. I'd woken up wondering where my ship was to only to find that I'd flown us to a totally different planet and that was why the scenery had changed. As it turned out ice moons with breathable atmospheres are actually a real thing.

I had another reason for taking Jenkins to human outpost. I was worried that she'd never grieved for the men she'd lost back on that training planet. I'd attempt to discuss the matter, only she wouldn't talk about it. In fact she avoided talking about feelings at all.

Which while actually rather pleasant for me, as I didn't want to talk about emotions, it also seemed unhealthy.

Sure I wasn't totally human any more, and I'd never been a solider, but I was pretty sure that keeping all those feels inside for too long was a bad thing. Perhaps being around other humans would remind her that she too was a human being.

It didn't take us long to reach the human colony, and as we entered the compound, many people stared at us as we passed by, but mostly at me. Jenkins mostly wore her colonial marines outfit with some bits of Yautja armour, were as I looked far more alien. Of course we'd taken our masks off so people could see that we were humans.

When we reached the bar, having already stopped at some other places, I looked down at my other hunting partner. She, he or it (I didn't know which nor did I care to check closely enough to find out) was a local wolf like creature, that might be descended from an Earth canine when this world was first settled if enough time had passed for the species to change. As that wasn't the case I suspected that the horned wolf creature was just a case of parallel evolution caused by the Engineers having seeded life on so many worlds. Much like how the Ancients seeding life in the Stargate galaxy led to their being humans sodding everywhere.

"Dog, stay" I commanded.

The dog, I'd never seen the need to name the creature, circled a small area for a moment before lying down next to the door. That done, we made our way inside. Looking around, I saw that other than the bartender we were the only ones there.

Upon noticing us, which took a moment as we both tended to move rather quietly, the bartender moved over towards us.

"What can I get you?" the man behind the bar wondered.

"C'nlip," I replied.

At this point I mentally kicked myself as I realized that had been an attempt by me to use a Yautja word when clearly English and Japanese were the dominant tongues here, at least judging by the signs. Not surprising really given the influence Weyland-Yutani (which had started off as two separate British and Japanese companies before combining resources) had over humanity and its colonies.

"Sorry, I meant to say I wanted a drink for myself and my lady friend, anything strong will do" I said.

I'd already traded in a some of the junk I'd salvaged during my trips for coins some of sort. The man picked them up off the counter before grabbing a bottle and a couple of glass. I had no idea what the coins were worth, or what they were made form, and it hardly mattered. I tended to barter when possible and rarely touched actual money.

"Leave the bottle" I said while placing more coins on the counter.

After downing the first glass, and sitting down at a booth in the corner. My plan was to simply listen to local chatter, and then maybe buy some drinks from some who felt chatty. Then later I could relay the gathered information to the superiors within my clan.

Within a few minutes of sitting down a group of humans came through the door. Instantly I was able to tell that while they were soldiers, they were not colonial marines. There were four males and one female in the group. I also noted that they were dragging one of them towards the counter. The one they were dragging spoke up.

"Guys, we don't have time for this. We really need to get back to base" he was saying

This was an older man, but under thirty I'd say. Still in the prime of his life, maybe even still young, as humans must live longer these days, but with a great amount of experience I guessed.

"Come on Sarge, don't be like that," spoke up one of the other men, this one had dirty blonde hair, and arms that were rippling with muscles "We need some way to thank you".

He looked over at the dark-haired female of Asian descent, who was the only woman in the five person squad.

"Unless…"

"I'm not sleeping with any of you creeps" she said while punching the blonde in the arm "None of you would respect me in the morning".

There was a lot of laughter and background noise as drinks were poured, but despite that, I was soon hearing more of the talk.

"With respect, sir, take that stick out your ass for the next hour and enjoy yourself. You deserve it for killing bugs all day" someone said "Out of all those squads, we were the only ones to make it out with no loses. That's something to celebrate. We're celebrating our survival. So take a seat and down a few shots".

Bugs? Had they been hunting the Hard Meat or just something else big and mean? I'd not seen any signs of xenomorphs, but they could be on the other side of the planet and be recent arrivals. I'd not scanned the planet since I'd arrived, and that had been quite a few locals days ago.

"Fine," the leader conceded. "Give me the damn drink"

They all grabbed a glass a raised it to the air. Toasting their success when it came to not dying.

"Hoorah!"

I could see Jenkins smiling.

"Come on let's go talk to them" she decided.

Well that would be one way to get information.

(Line Break)

 **Bar. Frontier Planet.**

Before long I had learned much about the soldiers. They weren't colonial marines, I'd known that, they didn't work for the company either, they worked for the Extrasolar Colonization Administration and existed to kill Xenomorphs and other threats, and had every intention of wiping them out where ever they could find them. A goal I fully supported.

As it turned out the United States Colonial Marines were owned by Weyland-Yutani, who also had a lot of influence over the Extrasolar Colonization Administration, but their control wasn't total hence the marines, who were a part of the American military were being left out of this.

The Extrasolar Colonization Administration was more multi-national than the American Colonial marines as well so ECA had a much wider recruitment base

It all sounded very political to me, and that was before someone mentioned the The Interstellar Commerce Commission (ICC), and how they wisely wanted the xenomorphs removed from the universe.

"Where did you two get that mark?" a solider asked me.

I ran my figure over the scar unwillingly drawing more attention to it.

"It's a clan mark" I answered.

"Clan? What clan?" the squad sergeant, Kent his name was, asked me.

"The Shadow Blades Clan" I answered,

Before anyone could inquire further, and I was sure they would, the sound of frantic barking could be heard from outside. Knowing that my dog would only bark like that if there was danger I slipped my mask on and headed outside.

Within moments half of the complex seemed to be on fire, humans were running around screaming as they were caught in nets and dragged away by figures unseen. However I could see them just fine. They were Predators and they were acting very dishonourably.

"Bad Bloods!" I heard myself yell.

I could see the other alien life forms that was causing so much trouble. They weren't Yautja, they were much worse in on so many ways. They were xenomorphs, but not like the ones I'd seen before. They had black carapaces of that race, and the heads were more or less the same shape, but these aliens ran around on four legs, and had spikes on their back, much like my dog. These must have been bred from animals like my dog and had some how been domesticated.

As I moved away from the door I saw the marines pull pistols from their belts and immediately began opening fire on the hostile creatures, but they couldn't see the Bad Bloods, they had to be bad bloods, even the less honourable clans wouldn't capture humans, nor would they be attacking civilians. This wasn't any sort of hunt, this was something else.

Sure the Yautja, who were fiercely protective of their advanced technology and considered the slaughter of any who would attempt to steal it a necessity, might attack in ways normally considered dishonourable in order to recover what was theirs, but capturing humans using tamed xenomorphs to heard them into nets. This was insanity.

"Bill!" the leader of the soldiers shouted "Radio the base! We need reinforcements here NOW!"

The private nodded before ducking into cover pulling out a communicator.

"No good, were being jammed!" he reported.

"Not all of us" I said.

I didn't think anyone had heard me, so I just reached for my wrist device and activating its distress signal before taking out my combi-stick. A hunter didn't call for help like this very often. Not if they were on a hunt or off training, but this attack was something I simply wasn't able to deal with.

As I began looking for a target with my shoulder mounted plasma cannon, I'd finally gotten my issues with use it the weapon this way, a loud growl told me that my dog stood at my left, it was time to fight.

The first Bad Blood I saw swung at me with an axe while invisible to everyone else. It was too close for me to fire at with my plasma caster so I had to take it on hand to hand.

My training had drilled into me not to go head to head with a creature, larger, stronger, tougher and more blood thirsty than myself. I couldn't match even weak Predator with sheer force.

With this in my I moved so that the axe went over my head, an act which made the dishonourable alien to try to twist itself around in an effort to face me before I could attack it expose back.

He wasn't fast enough, the Yautja were stronger, they were tougher, and they more stamina as well, but they weren't built for avoiding attacks. Humans and other things they hunted could outmanoeuvre them. Which was why they all wore some armour no matter how experienced they became or how talented they were.

I knew all this, and had been trained to strike at weak points, which was why I was now forcing my spear into the Yautja's armpit. They like us kept many important organs in their chest and as such getting those stabbed with a spear was a very bad thing.

Since that wasn't enough my dog jumped onto him and began tearing at his throat bringing the Bad Blood to the ground. Despite having the point of a spear in his chest the Hunter was able to force my dog off him, but this only brought the lawbreaker a few moments more of life.

I lifted his spear again and drove it into the Yautja's masked face, right into the eye socket and into the brain. Another weak spot our two species shared.

Then I was under attack. I did my best to block the oncoming blows but I was quickly overwhelmed by the superior foe who didn't give me the chance to strike at any vulnerable parts.

My plasma caster was ripped from its socket. Then I was grabbed by the neck and lifted into the air just as it began to rain. The Bad Blood's cloak soon failed, as they weren't water proof for some reason, and I found myself staring into the eyes of a mask. It was a chilling effort that led to me stopping my struggles to escape the alien's grip.

My dog leaped into save me, I heard it try, and then yelp. I was able to turn enough to see the evil Predator wrap his other hand around my dog's neck before snapping it.

"Bastard!" I swore.

I wasn't totally sure what I did next. I just began kicking and punching as hard as I could, and by luck or the will of Paya (the Predator's war god) I managed to struggle free.

Then the sound of something filled the air, a horn of some kind, as soon as it was heard anyone who wasn't human turned around and quickly left. The raid was over it seemed.

(Line Break)

 **Frontier World. AVP Universe**

"Tell me exactly what were those aliens and why there were here?" a voice demanded.

All of the human soldiers now had their weapons pointed at me. I was not having a good day.

"They were taking people" the oriental woman said. "Why?"

"They didn't kill any of them," Sergeant Kent continued by saying "The bastards were dragging them away".

Bill, the radio operator, spoke next.

"Sir we'll need to report this" he said.

"I know, radio the base, have them send someone over" the sergeant said "Medics and marines".

He then turned back to me.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you executed right now!" he ordered.

I could give him many.

"Because I was trying to help you" I said "And I'm the only person who can help you figure any of this out, or help you to get any of those people back".

The soldiers soon lowered their weapons.

"Those were Yautja criminals" I explained "Known as bad bloods, and by the looks of things they've figured out how to domesticate xenomorphs".

No one asked who the Yautja were so it seemed safe to assume that they'd at least heard about. Jenkins hadn't as I recalled. Perhaps their existence was kept need to know for humans, or perhaps the Colonial Marines and their corporate masters practised mushroom management. That or these guys had simply read their training manuals.

"Now you can keep pointing guns at me" I said next "Or we can do something about these abductions. Yautja can cloak, but they can't hide from my ship so we should be able to track them down. I can even get us reinforcements if you'd like".

The Sergeant started at me for a while before turning to the soldiers under his command.

"Go get your gear from the ship and report back here" Kent ordered his squad.

Before long the five soldiers, Jenkins and I were ready to go.

"On my ship, my word is law. You do what I say understand" I told them "And keep your hands to yourself, the Yautja of my clan are not known for being nice to people who mess with their tech".

All the humans nodded in understanding.

"Where are we heading?" one of them asked.

This I could explain.

"The bad bloods must have a base nearby" I told the troops "Something cloaked so you can't see or detect it, but if we can track them and get close enough my ship should be able to find them. But we'll need help so we need to contact my clan, who should already be on the way".

Yautja motherships could cross galaxies so if it my clan ship was anywhere nearby, and it seemed likely it was given that my clan leader must be concerned about was going on in this area judging by his message, then I should be able to speak with him soon.

"Once we've got some back up. Then we land at the base, find the people who were taken, and kill anything between us and them. Oh and we'll blow up the bad guy's base too".

Kent liked this idea.

(Line Break)

Base. Frontier World.

It opened up into a room vaguely reminiscent of a hospital nursery, only it was a nightmare version, which had then been combined with the lair of a mad scientist. To put it simply: it was gruesome.

Rows up rows of small jar-like containers were filled with chest buster Xenomorphs of all animals, which were somewhat similar to Earth species, as well as people, had been used as hosts. Xeno-tigers, xeno-wolves, xeno-humans all produced by scientific experimentation.

The results of the usual process, if raping someone's face could be ever be called usual, of xenomorph reproduction, floated in their containers. All thankfully very dead and dissected.

They must have been extracted from the hosts after the face huggers had done their work, but before the chest busters matured enough to survive outside of their hosts.

According to the notes I was quickly able to read they were trying out different combinations of facehugger and host to see what host species produced the best adult xenomorph.

It was xeno-humans by far. Something about human DNA when absorbed by a growing chest buster made for the best xenomorph killing machine all around.

They were the most cunning, and intelligent, but also the least controllable. Apprantly the xeno-wolves, were the easiest to control, and they been supplied to the Bad Blood Clan in exchange for tech and for them gathering test subjects. Also there was mention of the Yautja having ways to domesticate these wolf-xenomorps that the humans here were struggling to understand.

All of which made me very glad for my new weapon, a MK221 Tactical Shotgun, a gift from new allies. Constructed of heat resistant alloys, which allowed the weapon to maintain structural integrity even after firing multiple shots in quick succession.

The centrepiece of the weapon other than the automatic firing rate, had to be the under barrel arc launcher, this fire arc rounds which were designed to deliver an electrically charged shotgun slug that paralyzed human enemies, while somehow killing Xenomorphs instantly.

While it did have poor accuracy depending on range, it was good close up and xenomorphs liked to get up close so they could kill you with their razor sharp claws or their small set of jaws.

Given the English labels on the jars of thankfully lifeless creatures I knew that at least some humans had been involved in using other humans as test subjects. In fact I go as far as to say that all the evil shit had been done here by humans.

Of course this was a company base. I'd seen the logo, the bad bloods must be in league with the company, or at least part of it, perhaps to produced new prey to either hunt or to hunt with, and the company just seemed to do evil shit for rather vague goals.

" _Shoot it!"_

 _"No keep it alive!"_

Sounded like someone was in trouble. They must have a queen that had gotten lose. However as bad as that was, it didn't happen to be our concern. The Yautja hunters of my clan could handle the queen, myself and the human soldiers with me had another task.

"Okay while everyone else is distracted let's lay the explosives" I said "Once we've done that, we can wait for the hunters to finish and for them to leave before blowing this place sky high".

We'd already freed the human captives, and for once a mission I was on happened be going real well.

"We've got something on the motion trackers" a solider reported "Lots of somethings heading right for us and very quickly".

Fuck you Murry, fuck you.

(Line Break)

 **Frontier Base. Human Colony World.**

As I sat in the bar I'd visited at the start of this adventure, I read over the files I'd snagged on the way out of the now exploded base. Which if anyone asked was totally the Yautja's doing. Not that the company was likely to ask because then they'd have to admit to having an illegal research base out here.

The company sure didn't screw around when it came to taking the most horrible things in the universe and finding ways to make them somehow even more horrible. Thankfully the xenomorphs who'd attacked us within the base had been the less dangerous wolf-xenomorphs who were trained to corral humans rather than slaughter them.

Currently I was reading a report about the possibility of short lived cloned dinosaurs, apparently that was somehow a thing in this universe, being used as hosts for xenomorphs. Which in my view was like someone getting the bright idea of dropping a nuke on an active volcano just to see what would happen.

My reading came to end when Jenkins came and sat across from me. She'd been sitting with the soldiers until now, celebrating a job well done. With the company base gone there would no more xenomorphs popping up at random and any bad blood who hadn't made a run for it would soon be hunted down.

"Listen Gothic" she stared by saying.

I could sense the words 'its not you its me' heading my way.

"You're leaving with the soldiers" I said.

It had been a statement not a question.

"Yes" she admitted "They've invited me to join them. In fact they want both of us. They're good people. They defend colonies and don't work for the company, and they don't care what the UNSC have to say about anything. We can make a real difference".

Tempting, but what I wanted was to go somewhere where I'd never have to deal any more xenomorphs or other hunters.

"No thanks. I'm a hunter, not a solider" I said "But if you want to leave the clan I won't make a fuss. You'll have to hand over any of their technology you're carrying and remove your mark. Other wise they might get upset".

For a moment for two I wondered if Jenkins would shout at me, or storm away, as women could be unpredictable at times, however rather than over react she got up, handed over the wrist device and plasma caster, and then kissed me on the cheek before going back over to the table her solider friends had claimed as their own.

"Don't get attached" I whispered "Don't stay in one place too long".

It was time to move on. There were plenty of hunting grounds out there, and I had a feeling that things were going to get messy between the Predator Clans. It best to leave this universe for a while.


	11. Yautja Prime

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 11**

 **Room. Mother Ship.**

"You want me to do what?!" I yelled.

It wasn't wise to yell at a veteran Yautja warrior, but I believed that my reaction was more than justified. After all it wasn't every day that a mere human, such as myself, got invited to visit the Predator home world. Well I imagined that many of my kind were on that planet, they just happened to be nothing more than skulls in a trophy case at this point.

"Gothic, I want you to come with us to the summit," my mentor repeated "Which will take place on the home world".

While my level of surprise didn't change much I was able to stop myself from yelling.

"You want me" I said, speaking slowly "to come to a summit of aliens, who could all break me like a toothpick if I so much as looked at them wrong. What the hell for?!".

Frankly I'd rather go back into a xenomorph hive while naked and covered in honey. At least those aliens were just doing what came naturally, even if it didn't make them any less scary or possibly evil for doing so. The Predators on the other hand might just torture and eat me for fun. I knew that different clans treated humans, and other 'soft meat' races in different ways, and there were bound to be rules I could accidentally break which could cause someone to challenge me to a fight to the death.

"You exposed the reason why the bad bloods were taking humans" my teacher was now saying "And you discovered that they were working with human bad blood. The Elders need to know about all this, don't you agree?"

Indeed they did need to know, but that was what written reports were for. I didn't need to travel across whole galaxies, as cool as that part would be, just to deliver an oral report to the Elders.

What if I offended them?, it would like me offending the Royal Family back home, only it would actually matter this time because the Elders could rip me apart with their bar hands.

"Yeah but I'm not suicidal" I protested.

"The Clan Leader says we are going. His ship, his rules. You _are_ coming with us" my mentor insisted.

Sure I had my own ship, so in theory I could go where I chose, but I was still a member of this clan. Which meant I certain duties to perform. Still I'd much rather be out there scouting worlds than have to deal with the Ancient Yautja.

"Fine, I suppose I don't have much of a choice" I said.

Via our masks our words were translated to each, but they were toneless. I had to guess at the emotional reaction of Yautja to what I had to say, and this worked in vice versa, so I could only hope that my teacher hadn't picked up on how whiny I sounded.

"You don't" my teacher confirmed "And don't feel too bad. You are an important part of the delegation".

Hopefully not as part of lunch.

"Really?" I asked, rather unenthusiastically.

Surely they had other sources of information about what was going on at the frontier of human controlled space here in the Aliens Verses Predator verse.

"Of course, when they're killing you, it will give me time to escape" my teacher.

Yautja had as much of a sense of humour as most humans, but right now I just didn't feel like laughing.

(Line Break)

 **Yautja Prime. AVP Verse.**

"So this is Yautja Prime"

Using my mask's many types of vision I was able to scan the city before me in a few different ways before I saw it as a human would. The city was made of a different metal than the clan ship, a jagged metal almost like dark stone.

They were found of their pyramids that was for sure, they'd built many on different worlds for their special hunts, but the ones here were much larger, more like artificial mountains and hills, rather than anything else. There had to be hundreds of them stretched out over the desert horizon stopping just before they reached what seemed to a vast and thick jungle. Plus there were were bound to me more than out of sight given my limited range of vision.

"Each is home to a different Clan" my teacher told me "The larger the pyramid the greater the clan".

He then pointed at a pyramid that was smaller than the rest, and it had flat top. Seemed more Aztec style than the others, I wondered if that meant they'd ever been used it for ritual sacrifices.

"There the Elders of the greatest clans shall met" I was informed.

The planets rings, highly visible even in daylight, and two suns dominated the sky and bathed the whole landscape in a reddish tint. As for the rings, I couldn't do them justice, they were massive and majestic. Earth's sky, as pretty as it could be on a clear day, or at sunset and sunrise, simply didn't compare to planetary rings.

Plus in the distance I could just about make out the rivers of flowing lava, which disappeared into oddly shaped buildings, only to appear elsewhere. Some sort of geothermal power, and perhaps they were able to extract the metals they needed from these rivers of molten hot magma.

"Beyond those rivers are the radioactive infernal deserts" my teacher told me "You would die within hours if you went there".

He then instructed me to look and use my mask to room in so I could get a better look at the planetary rings. I wasn't sure of what I was now seeing, however I felt almost certain that there were dry docks and shipyards up there as well as much in the way of industry.

"What do you think?" my mentor asked me.

I found that I was speechless.

"Come we shall visit my home" my teacher soon said.

We passed by many Yautja on the way and each one of them stared at me if just for a moment. I figured that I was something they saw every day. A human dressed in Yautja armour, carrying weapons, and even trophies, must be like a human seeing an animal dressed in a business suit. My Clan might accept humans as more than trophies or mere pets, but that didn't mean I was welcome on this planet.

After less than half an hour of walking we reached our destination: which was a large pyramid towering over the surrounding buildings, I asked about the smaller structures.

Normally my teacher wasn't the chatty type, but this he explained that the smaller builders were run by the females who ran the automated systems that supplied clean water and dealt with the waste. Lower ranking females maintained these systems, while higher ranking females cared for the young within the pyramids and maintained them.

"We need to get you inside out of the heat" my mentor was now saying.

I didn't feel that hot, but I didn't want to faint due to heat stroke during such an important event so I quickly followed my teacher to somewhere cooler.

(Line Break)

 **Pyramid. Yautja Prime.**

Compared to humans the Predators were not very materialistic, they didn't feel the need to clutter their homes with personal effects. While they did place great value on their weapons and armour, as well as trophies, they Predators went to lengths to keep them out of sight most of the times. Possibly out of some sense of modesty, or perhaps it was more practical than that and they just didn't want their stuff needlessly exposed to the elements.

In the end it didn't really matter as my mentor was more than happy to show off his collection, he even went as far as to cool the temperature of his dwelling for me.

I'd been hoping for a tour of this Pyramid, which had to be the home base of my clan, as it would have been interesting to see how those who didn't hunt lived their lives, but the Yautja weren't that sociable and I didn't think they'd want me poking my nose into their affairs anyway.

My teacher had many fine trophies on display, which he had no doubt collected over several human life times. I was also sure that many female Predators had been highly impressed by this collection. But I tried not to take that trail of thought any further down the path.

One of the first trophies to catch my eye was that of a Praetorian. Those creatures were perhaps one of the most interesting strains of Xenomorph as well as the most deadly. Its primary role within the Hive was to guard key locations of importance or interest, and if nothing else, to protect the Queen herself. It was also one of the largest and strongest of the xenomorph strains.

Praetorians can evolve into a queen. Due to this, Praetorians can be considered Xenomorph "princesses," due to them being a young, not yet fully developed, Queen.

Thankfully I'd never had to face such a creature as they didn't tend to appear until a Hive reached a large size and was well settled into an area. The gods willing I would never be anywhere near one of them.

There were other xenomorph skulls here as well, no two were quite alike, suggesting that the drones or possibly warrior types had come from different host species.

My mentor had no skulls from xenomorph queens on display, I didn't know why. Perhaps he'd just never taken a queen on solo, or maybe he had it was one of the skulls I'd seen on the ship in the clan's trophy cases.

I also saw the helmet of a Mala'kak (a.k.a. Engineers or Space Jockeys) which I was sure was rare trophy since I'd never seen one on display like this.

After that I focused on the bones of what I was sure were animals, and a few I recognised, such as the hell-hound, which were sometimes used as hunting dogs by some tribes of Predators.

And of course there were the human skulls, the sight of which didn't bother me as much as they once would have. I just spent a few moments wondering who they might have been.

Oddly I spotted skulls that were similar to humans, but not quite right, deformed or alien I didn't know which. Given that the Yautja could access other universes and seemed to be doing so more recently it wouldn't surprise me if they were skulls taken from humanoid races I had some knowledge of because on my world they were fictional.

Near the cases that contained several sets of armour, as well as many kinds of weapons, was the head of an android, most likely taken during the recent attacks on WY company bases who part of that vast company which dealt with bio-weapons or whatever else those Weyland-Yuntani cunts thought xenomorphs could be good for. At least whoever ran the parts of that company which made regular weapons knew how to help people kill the hard meat and made weapons well suited to the task.

On the subject of weapons my mentor had plenty of those. Not just the standard stuff like the plasma weapons, all of which were larger and more powerful versions of what I used, but he also had a good collection, made up from, combi-sticks, shirken, swords, throwing disks, and more exotic weapons I couldn't even imagine using in a fight. I was pretty certain that he even had a pair of nunchucks made of the bones of some creature.

"We'll leave for the summit soon" my mentor told me "Stay here until then, do not go wandering off".

As soon as he was gone I took out one of the hand held computers I'd take from a human ship and started to amuse myself. Apparently solitaire had endured for centuries as a computer game and it was just the kind of thing needed when you had time to kill.

(Line Break)

 **Meeting Place. Yautja Prime.**

The flat top of one of the pyramids was where the summit took place. Yet while it wasn't one of the larger buildings it dwarfed most of the ships that floated above the city.

Since there was an entire fleet here it wasn't hard to understand just how important this meeting was. However in my view it could be more secure, there were many important Yautja here judging by how many wore the cloaks that only Clan Leaders and the Elders were allowed to wear. And there didn't seem to be any proper security for them. Not they needed more protection, they might be slowed somewhat by age, but each of these Predators had the finest weapons and armour, as well as centuries of experience.

The sound of growls and what passed for chattering among the Predators soon reached my ears, and while it took me some time to get a proper view of what was going on I soon saw who was getting most of the attention. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere close for not for the Yautja who made way for my Clan Leader and mentor.

Even without ever seeing him before, I knew exactly who it was. This had to be the grand elder, the ruler of Yautja prime, their king for lack of a better term, somehow I didn't think he'd been elected into a position of power. This was a warrior who'd earned his rank through survival more than anything else.

Then I noted that they did have bodyguards, but I figured their presence was ceremonial more than anything else.

My mask was already translating some of the whispers around me. Some were saying that this grand elder had lived far more than most Yautja. Yet he wasn't the flour white of my Clan's advisor and story teller, he was a light grey, and he seemed more robust.

"They are simple raids, nothing more" an elder was saying.

The elders, sometimes called the Ancients, not to be confused with those ascended pricks, were already debating the reasons behind this conclave. Hopefully they'd come up with some plan of action because clearly something messed up was going on in the Milky Way.

"Oh then care to tell me why two most honoured clans have not shown to the summit?" another asked "And why four lesser clans refused to come. Simple raids do not cause that many clans to forsake a summons such as this".

"The bad bloods and lesser clans have attacked us" called out a elite hunter of some clan I didn't know "and our leaders do nothing about it".

A guard next to the elder growled in response.

"Hold your tongue whelp!" an ancient one yelled.

The chief ignored him and looked to the other Yautja.

"The Twin Moon clan, the Serrated Dagger clan, even the mighty Mountain Hunter clan are all missing! And what do the elders do? Nothing!"

This was when the leader of my Clan stepped forward.

"I am the leader of the Shadow Blade clan for those of you who do not already know" he said while dragging me forward "And I have one who has seen what the bad bloods and lesser clans who rebel against the elders are really up to".

There was a lot of noise

"What the pauk is this?!" one of the clan leaders yelled. "You would allow a human to speak here?!"

Okay my mask didn't even try to translate pauk, and I got the feeling that I really didn't want to know what it meant. I wasn't the only non-Yautja here of that I was sure, since a few figures around were to short to be Predators, but I was being singled out. Which I didn't like.

"Believe me it was not a choice I wanted to make," my clan leader said to the many gathered aliens "He is only here because of his knowledge of Bad Bloods. One of which he slew as the bad bloods raided a human colony with their tamed hard meat".

The guard looked at me.

"Just remember Ooman. You the c'jit on the bottom of my boot" he said.

An elder raised a hand and ordered me to speak, and I very quickly reported on what happened. I spoke about the attack on the frontier base and the lab I saw. He at least kept his comments on the matter at hand and didn't feel the need to insult me.

While that information was being absorbed my Clan Leader raised his wrist device, and began pressing a few keys before a large hologram appeared above him.

"This is footage that was sent to me by a member of the Mountain Hunter Clan, who my Clan have long been allied to, just before we lost contact with them" my group's leader was now saying.

I'd not seen this so I was interested. What I saw didn't last long. There was a door that burst open and from the other side came what seemed to be an endless amount of Kainde Amedha.

The Yautja warriors, the mountain clan I assumed, were torn apart in seconds. When the carnage finished, the Kainde Amedha stood aside to allow more figures to enter the room.

Now I could see a massive Predator, who had to be one of those super predators from the Predators film, as she or he, entered the room. He, or she, was followed by Bad Bloods, they wore the blood red armour I'd seen before.

The massive Yautja, who wore very little armour at all when compared to the bad bloods, used the plasma caster on his or her shoulder to shoot the source of the recording. Which brought the display to a quick end.

"As you can see, things are much worse than what we imagined" my clan's leader said.

Bit of an understatement really

"So it is true" said an elder "The Bad Bloods are controlling xenomorphs. We recently learned that it was the Bad Bloods who attacked several Oooman colonies and captured the colonists, but we had no idea why. Now we do, they are working with human bad bloods to create abominations".

Which made things even more horrible and scary. I'd only seen one kind of domesticated xenomorph so far, but soon there could be others.

"They are building an army" stated another elder.

The room erupted in protests and growls.

"That's not possible, how could they control the Kainde Amedha?!" a clan leader asked.

"We don't know," replied one of the elders, "but how they are doing it is not important. What is important is that we stop them. The Bad Bloods and the Berserkers have joined forces and they control the Kainde Amedha. This is not a force we can stop on our own, we will need the Oomans warriors, the Colonial Marines, and the help of those our wiser clans have adopted.

Now that caused an uproar.

"Are you insane?!" one clan leader called out. "Why would we need the Oomans?"

"If you think I will degrade myself and my race to accept the help of lowly Oomans, than you are truly a fool!" shouted another clan leader.

Before any of them could continue, a loud boom shook the building.

"What was that? Was that an explosion?" someone asked.

We were under attack. There could be no other explanation. But by who and why?

(Line Break)

 **Bar. Yautja Station.**

"What happened next?" Xander Harris asked "I mean you must have escaped because you're here, but how did you escape?, and who attacked you?".

I was so glad I had a tab going here as I needed the drinks.

"Well I'm not exactly sure how I got back to the Mother Ship" I admitted "I should have gotten trampled, but I do remember hearing that it was an attack by a minor clan who must be allied with the bad bloods and some group called the Berserkers. Clearly this is all very political, and I think our alien overlords are about to have a civil war. Not that surprising given all the social changes the seem to be undergoing. I'd bet that the bad bloods are claiming that outsiders will destroy the Yuatja way of life, while at the same time they are working with humans. Bloody hypocrites".

I could only imagine what the coming war would be like. Would it involve fleets of mother ships all firing at each other in epic space battles? Or would rival clans seek to eliminate each other in smaller scale skirmishes? I really had no idea. I kept telling myself not to keep trying to figure the Yautja out, but I couldn't seem to stop myself from trying.

"Just goes to show that are ass hats everywhere" Harris stated.

I drank to that.

"Sounds like a good time to be out scouting" Harris stated "I'm also thinking that we'll seeing more non-Yautja on the station if the clans are looking for more allies. They might need more tech to, something to give the edge over the bad bloods".

This version of the beloved BTVS character didn't seemed laid back and carefree at all. The Yautja transfusions must have done a number on him. Then again they'd changed me to because I never would have considered hunting for mere pleasure to be an acceptable pass time until after I'd spent time with my mentor. I could understand hunting for food, or to protect your livestock, but anything else just seemed like needless cruelty towards animals, or it had seemed that way. Now I saw things differently.

"My mentor agrees with you. And I was thinking of finding some alternate version of Earth and hunting some criminals for a while" I told Harris "Anything you want me to bring back?".

He reached under the bar and soon passed me a list that was stored on some of data pad. It contained a lot of things. Some of which I was sure I could easily find, paying for them would be another matter. I wouldn't simply take things. I was no thief.

"This is the stuff always in demand" he told me "There's more than a few ladies who pass through this space port who'd be very grateful for even a couple of items off these lists. Not everyone has their own ship, and has the freedom to move about like you do".

Yeah near death experiences aside I had been very lucky. I'd seen some amazing sights and I'd gotten to bang some babes, as well get into a few thrilling fights. No sense stopping now.


	12. Gotham

**Author Note**

This is set in a time in the Gotham series, not sure when exactly it would fit, but it should work.

 **Predator Gothic**

 **Gotham**

 **Rooftops. Gotham.**

The Predators had scouted out a number of different versions of Earth, there seemed to be a surplus of them for unknown reasons, as if some creator needed spares, and while many that had been scouted were claimed as the hunting grounds of one clan, or in some cases divided up into different territories for different clans, this version of the world was not claimed by any Yautja, nor was it forbidden to travel to according to the database on board my scout ship.

As to why this was, it became clear not long after arriving. To someone not familiar with alternate versions of Earth this planet seemed much like many of its copies, as in there's was nothing here to hunt you couldn't find elsewhere, as such no Yautja clan wished to claim it as a hunting ground.

It wasn't until I'd looked closer that I'd realised what a treasure it was I'd actually found. This world was a DC Earth, only really it wasn't. There were cities here normally only found on comic book versions of my world, as well as many fictional characters, but no super heroes at all.

No Superman, No Flash, No Green Lantern, No Manhunter, No Wonder Wonder, but it didn't have super villains either. Well okay that wasn't true, there were a worryingly large amount of psychopaths, and the odd freak that could considered supernatural, for lack of a better understanding, but they weren't threats humanity couldn't handle.

Most of the super villains were focused on a modern day version of Gotham City, and while there were reports of a masked crime fighter, if he was Batman it was very early days for him, as in he didn't even dress as a man sized bat.

I had wondered if this meant that the other heroes simply weren't active yet due to being too young or busy elsewhere while keeping their heads down, but I doubted it.

For example there was no town here called Smallville, and no Clark Kent at the Daily Planet, I'd checked the Internet, which was thing I could do when hunting on Earth since I was able to pass for human.

The original reason I'd chosen this Earth was that the scouting report mentioned that were an usually high amount of human bad-bloods (criminals) in one area. I didn't really want to hunt humans, but I was going to have at some point to prove my worth so I'd figured that I'd sleep better at night if the humans I'd killed were simply monsters who didn't look like monsters.

So finding a Gotham, one that lack a proper Batman, made things even easier for me since it meant I could take the skulls, that my trophy case was sorely lacking, while actually saving lives in the long run.

Still I was taking my time in collecting my trophies. I was in no rush. Not just because I wanted to saviour my time here before taking my trophies and moving on, but because I knew that once I'd added to the data base information about this world that other Predators would be drawn here so they could hunt the super power crooks and other freaks that kept popping out of the wood work. Assuming of course the civil war didn't keep them all busy elsewhere.

Part of me wondered why Gotham had so many crooks, corrupt cops and freaks running about, and while I wasn't easily spooked, I had to worry about a place which had a toxic waste dump on a place called Indian Hill. Which knowing DC verses, as I did, had to be burial ground for Native Americans who'd all be horribly slaughtered by the first Europeans to settle the area. Oh and more recently Indian Hill had been the sight for illegal experimentation on human beings. Wow this city had to be cursed.

Anyway as it turned out actually finding a super villain whose skull I could take as a trophy wasn't as easy as I had imagined. The majority of them were locked up in Arkham, as in nearly all of them. While this should have made my job easier it didn't because humans in a hospital were not valid targets. They wouldn't have any weapons, and they'd be restrained, or at least contained. No sport in that.

So for now I was more or less wandering the rooftops while cloaked, and I was limited to hunting lesser prey. Which I did to keep my skills sharp. I didn't bother with the trash and rats below (both literal and of the humans kinds) unless something caught my attention.

Which some fool was doing right now. A large man, who had to be a pimp given how stereotypically he was dressed, had a girl backing up against a wall down in some ally. She'd screamed and he'd hit her, something I could clearly see thanks to one of my many modes of vision, but while this was dishonourable it didn't stir me into action.

When the guy with way to much bling, pulled out a massive knife, that was when I acted. He was too far for me to take on blade to blade, and I wasn't too sure I'd be able to hit him with my Wraith stunner from this distance, so I used my bow.

That might seem a tad primitive for a space hunter, but while most of the arrow was made out of wood, taken from an alien world, the arrowheads were constructed by a Yautja Weapon's Master. Also I had laser targeting.

As such when I fired the arrow, which I'd carefully aimed, it went right through his spine via the back of his neck. An act which made the crook drop like puppet whose strings had been cut.

"Got no strings so I just have fun" I whispered.

The young woman screamed again, and ran away. Quite sensible of her, and it meant there was no one in my way when I got down the body. The kill hadn't been challenging enough to make taking a trophy at all worth while. Although I did take the guys wallet for the cash, he'd been a successful pimp at least. I didn't take his gun either, that stayed with the body, but the crooking being more heavily armed than I'd thought, made me feel better about the kill.

Before long I hoisted the body up using a lamp post and used a fire escape to secure the wire. I didn't skin him since no one in my clan had ever told me to that to anything that wasn't an animal, perhaps my clan simply do that to humans, but I did leave him hanging as proof of my victory, such as it was.

Hopefully I'd find something more challenging soon, or I'd be leaving all the freak and super criminals to future hunters, and that just wasn't fair.

(Line Break)

 **Alleyway. Gotham.**

Several cops stood at either end of the passage, sealing it off to protect the crime scene from prying eyes who wanted to get too close of look. This crime, like the others, was simply too grisly to let the public find out too much about, at least not without some explanations carefully fed to the press.

Finding out about these latest killings might induce mass panic, Jim Gordon, now captain of the GCPD reasoned. And in Gotham's current state, this was something that had to be avoided at all costs.

The last thing the always overburdened police force needed right now was to be distracted by having to quell panic and restore order, again. Due to so many loses for the GCDP there simply wasn't enough manpower and resources to both keep order and hunt down the latest nut job.

"We haven't seen anything like it before" Captain Gordon said to one of his fellow police officers "Only in Gotham".

There was a moment of quite as the two cops took in the scene trying to puzzle it out.

"Any suspects?" a firm but steady voice asked.

The police captain and the detective both nearly jumped right out of their shoes. Gordon turned to see the young Bruce Wayne, who had somehow gotten passed the police barricade. He'd gotten very good at sneaking around as he'd gotten older.

"Do you have to do that?" Gordon complained, his heart rate slowing down from its breakneck pace to a more reasonable one. "I'm not as young as I used to be, Bruce".

He was certainly starting to feel the years catching up with him.

"What are the facts of the case?" the billionaire asked.

Gordon couldn't help noticing that young Mr Wayne's voice was all most totally devoid of all emotion. Gordon frowned, Bruce had been appearing at crimes scenes very regularly for a while and recently he'd been showing too much interest to be healthy. Perhaps he and Bruce should have words in a more casual setting so that he could make sure Bruce simply wasn't going through some weird phase. Until then it did no harm to share information. Bruce wouldn't share it with the press, and he had helped out in the past. Hopefully he'd stay out of this one.

"Our facts are rather slim. I'm afraid there's not much I can tell you," Gordon said "The guy's wallet was emptied of cash, but this isn't a mugging, its too much work for a simple mugging, and the murder weapon is odd. An arrow fired from the rooftops, and given the angle, forensics tells me it would not have been an easy shot to make. This guy's been trained to kill".

Which made this all very odd as such a trained killer should be able to make all the money he wanted with contract killings.

"Then the victim, whose a pimp known to work this area, greats strung up like some sort of decoration for everyone to see" Gordon added "Its a message that's for sure but what it means or who its for. We don't have a clue".

Bruce seemed oddly calm about the whole thing.

"The other victims, are they all like this?" the young millionaire asked .

In fact they weren't.

"Well they've all been strung up" Gordon answered "But there's a few different murder weapons. One guy was killed with a sword as far as we can tell, a few by some sort of knife, a couple with a spear if forensics is to be believed, but most have been killed at a distance with a single arrow. Always a lethal shot".

James took a deep breath.

"Our best theory is that we're dealing with serial killer," the Captain said "A skilled killer who is targeting criminals and doing it carefully".

Bruce turned to the older man.

"What makes you say that?" he asked

Gordon almost didn't answer.

"All the victims were armed in some way, only they were killed, and witnesses, when there were any saw nothing, as in really nothing. The streetwalker who witnessed this guy's death just saw the arrow coming out of her pimps neck and that was it".

"Anything else I should know?" Bruce enquired.

Again Jim almost didn't say anything, but he gave in. Something about the way Bruce would stare at him made him give in.

"Yeah someone filmed this" Gordon said while showing "I'm having it checked out to see if its a fake, but so far it seems to be real, not some prank".

The footage showed a body, not the one nearby, being hoisted up into the air so that it hung upside down. Which was strange for sure, only there was no one doing the heavy lifting.

"I don't need to tell you how serious this is" Gordon told the younger man "I've kept this under wraps as best I could, the notion of an invisible, remorseless murderer is not something I want the public getting wind of, is that understood".

The not quite Batman nodded solemnly.

"I won't let this city down, Jim" he promised.

The police captain just nodded. There was nothing else to say. He turned on his heel and strode away from the macabre scene. By the time Gordon reached his car, he knew it would be pointless to turn around and see if Bruce was still there. The ever increasingly mysterious young man would be long gone by then.

So rather than look behind him Gordon looked up and saw.. nothing at all. Yet despite seeing nothing he couldn't help feeling a chill go down his spine. He felt as if was being watched.

(Line Break)

Cafe. Gotham

As I drank my coffee and read the paper I became a little upset. Because either I was a lot more alien than I'd realised or the people of this city were royally messed up.

Despite police efforts some information about my hunts had made the paper, mostly speculation, but it was not flattering. Apparently I was the latest psycho to visit Gotham, and just as bad as the others despite my honour code which meant I was only targeting adult criminals who all armed. Yet I was being compared the likes of those who currently lived in Arkham.

As I read more I realised that this was because the police hadn't let the press get the details. Had the reporter known the truth I might be labelled a vigilantly killer than a mass murder.

In retrospect perhaps it had been unwise of me to hoist my kills for all to see. I had hoped that it would be an effective warning to criminals, now it just made me seem like another freak.

For a moment or two I considered moving on. I was a big game hunter not pest control. I wasn't here to wipe out the vermin I was here for dangerous prey. None of which I'd been able to target.

No what I needed to do was up my game. Not by increasing my body count, no I needed to do some detective work. If the big game animals weren't on the street then I'd have to track them down to their lairs.

Then once I had the skull of at least one major league criminal then I'd leave, and the people here would soon forget about me. Because they were all clearly the crazy ones, and I was just fine.

Right?

(Line Break)

 **Wayne Manor. Gotham.**

Batman was back inside the Batcave. Well okay no one called it the Batcave, and he wasn't Batman, but any DC fan would see things that way. No matter who or what anyone or anything was called, what matter was the work going on inside.

Alas the work was not going well. Bruce had no suspects, no one he had encountered or heard about had an M.O which matched that of this latest killer.

Switching tactics, Bruce brought up an index of all known serial killers and assassins, be they from Gotham or elsewhere. His powerful mind allowing him to read at a furious pace. There was still no match.

Bruce Wayne, pinched his nose in frustration. Then with a deep breath, he eventually regained his composure. There was nothing to be had in losing himself to fury. It was time to stay rational.

Perhaps he was looking for a new murderer. It was time to see if he could deduce what kind of person they might be.

The sort of Batman studied the few images he had, which he'd acquired from the police, for a long time, and he began to realise his mistake. He couldn't find this killer, because he wasn't a crook at all, nor was an Indian Hill escapee, this was something else.

Of course, the killer could be a super-powered metahuman, a term which had started up as label for humans with remarkable abilities. That along with the clear signs of combat training, even if it was with odd weapons, suggested some sort of metahuman with backup. Government made super solider maybe? But then why the out of date weapons?

"Early start, sir?" someone wondered.

Bruce turned to his right and saw Alfred descending the steps that led into the cave, while carrying a plate of tea and crumpets.

"No, quite the opposite in fact. I've got a very tricky case this time and need to do my research" the last remaining Wayne told his friend and mentor.

"Ah, I see," Alfred said, before setting the platter down on the table next to the console. "I hope I'm not being overly forward, but would you be willing to tell me the exact manner in which this case is so perplexing? Perhaps I can assist you in some way".

A fresh perspective couldn't hurt.

"Very well," Bruce said.

He then told Alfred about his meeting with the police captain, as well as the facts he'd unearthed so far. Alfred's concern grew as the disturbing tale went on.

"And the police have no leads?" the butler wondered.

"None," Bruce confirmed soberly.

Alfred poured some tea.

"This might be more than you can handle, sir" he said.

Bruce didn't exactly disagree.

"Maybe so. But I'm the only one who has a chance of stopping this thing" he said "I'm not going sit idly by and let more and more people die, just to save myself some work"

Alfred sighed.

"Of course. I expected no less from you. Sometimes these things just, they worry me, master Bruce" said the older man "You can beat up gangsters until the cows come home, but stuff like this. Seems like too much for anyone".

This was when Bruce got an email.

"What about the possibility that this is just a serial killer?" the butler suggested. "A psychopath that kills for sport?".

Most of the time the simplest explanation was the correct one.

"Captain Gordon had the same idea. I admit it's possible, but not very likely" Bruce said "In fact I'm now sure that were dealing with something unnatural. Take a look at this".

The British Man did. Noting that Lucius Fox must have sent this report to Bruce Wayne.

"DNA test is inconclusive" he read out "As in they can't even be sure that this killer is totally human. So one of Hugo Strange's freaks then?".

Bruce was too busy eating to reply right away.

"Maybe" he said when his mouth was empty of food "They haven't all been accounted for, but that's not the only interesting part".

Alfred read some more.

"Unidentified elements found in metal traces" the butler read out "Not confirmed but could suggest totally new elements not currently known to science. Well that sounds more like something government made, top secret rather than Strange's work".

Bruce's mind was working fast. Considering courses of actions.

"I also found this footage online"

The video show a man being hoisted up on a wire by nothing or no one. The common theory on the net was killer ghost. Bruce had other ideas.

"Could be some of cloaking device that bends light around a person" the future dark knight mused "Up close I should be able to spot who ever is behind this, but he's going to be impossible to track".

"So we have a highly trained killer with unknown weapons that seemed primitive, but aren't since he can become invisible, and he's going around Gotham killing minor crooks" Alfred summarised

Bruce nodded.

"What I can't figure out is why. Training maybe, but then why not use a government facility, or somewhere in the wilderness. Why send something like that here?".

Alfred had no more answers than Bruce did.

(Line Break)

 **Warehouse. Gotham.**

I'd tracked the creature back to its lair, and I was sure that it was some sort of creature as I'd spotted it while using heat seeing vision. In that mode humans were all orange, yellow and red. Much like any other large mammal.

This thing that I was following was blue and green, much colder than a human, too cool in temperature to be Mr Freeze. Besides I didn't think Mr Freeze covered the floors of his hideouts with the skeletal remains of animals such as rats, cats, dogs, and at least one human, as well as parts of several other humans.

What I was tracking had to be some sort of reptile person. And this was confirmed when it appeared and fired some kind of venom all over my face. If I hadn't been wearing my mask I was sure I'd be in agony right now. As it was I'd been rendered blind.

However that hardly meant I was helpless. I had my sword and I swiped with it as I heard a hissing sound. My action was rewarded with an inhuman howl of pain. No man had made that noise

I wiped off the venom as best I could with gauntlet, but that just smeared it, still it was enough to let me see my prey, which was currently making for the door.

"Oh no you don't" I said.

I fired my netgun, the compact version that was fitted into my gauntlet, a recent upgrade and reward for not humiliating my clan at the summit, and this pinned the cold blooded creature in place.

Since I'd been trained not to let my prey needlessly suffer I moved in for the kill and drove my sword into the biped repilte's chest. The net relaxed, since it had been created only to tighten around something that struggled.

Soon I was able to claim my trophy, the head of a snake man. Not some version of killer croc, a snake man. It had fangs, and could spit venom, as well as hands that were claw like, even its eyes were wrong, perhaps it too had seen in the world of heat, a very worthy foe, if a bit cowardly at the end.

Still I was sure its oddly shaped skull would look good in my trophy case, which all the fleshy parts were removed, and if I could add to this collection with some heads from freaks all the better.

I intended to go after bigger prey, assuming of course that I didn't run into the future dark knight. I'd see how things progressed. I might have to cut the hunt short. But that was okay, there were plenty of other hunting grounds out there.

However there was no need to worry about that right now, it would soon be morning, which meant it was time to return to my ship, get changed, sleep for a few hours and then go out to get some stuff off Harris's list using money claimed from minor crooks.

Shopping that was normal, healthy human behaviour. So I wasn't totally crazy then.

Right?

(Line Break)

 **Rooftops. Gotham.**

The masked all in black figure threw some kind of strange weapon at me. It seemed to be a wire of some kind with two metal balls on either end. The thing whipped itself into circles as it spun forward.

Realizing what was about to happen I shifted position and slashed at the incoming weapon with my wrist gauntlet, which did the job. Its blades severed the cable easily, causing the metal ends to whiz harmlessly past me. But that was just the start.

Instead of rushing in immediately, Bruce Wayne, it had to be him under that mask, took the opportunity to study his foe. Which in this case was me. When he was done he took up a low crouch and gestured with a "come get me" motion.

I did not rush into the fight, instead I took a few calculated swings at the sort of Batman. Which he easily dodged, as he did so, two batarangs appeared in his hands. Well they weren't bat themed, but they didn't need to be for me to figure out what they were for.

Soon I took another swing at him with my wrist blades, and each time I moved just that bit faster as I tested my foe. The fight continued in that fashion for several minutes, sparks flying as each combatant parried the others blows.

The exchange finally ended with us each trying to overpower the other, in attempt to land a blow. It took some time, but my superior strength forced the sort of Batman to his knees, it was also putting a lot of strain on our weapons. My wrist blades, being made from superior materials held up better.

Just as one of the kind of batarang snapped in half, the future Batman rolled backward to avoid being cut. He barely managed to escape in time, he was faster than I'd expected.

The future dark knight, continued his roll, not doubt intending to put some distance between us, only this didn't work out, as before he could get back up, I kicked him firmly in the side. Knowing that his armour would cushion most of the force of the blow.

Momentum and the kick carried Bruce farther away from me, and this gave the young hero time to get up onto his feet. Which was fine with me since I didn't want this to be over too soon, it was thrilling.

However I'd been trained well, and I'd been trained to hunt and kill, not to go three rounds with heroes, as such when the young caped crusader, not that he had cape, came at me. I fired a net at him.

Which he ducked under and the net went flying off onto the rooftops to wrap around a chimney, which was annoying because I'd used a compact version of the net launcher that was built into my gauntlet and not the pistol version of the weapon. Which meant I'd have to gather up the net and awkwardly repack it, that was a chore. It also meant I didn't have any projectiles left to use in this fight since I wasn't carrying a gun and didn't have the time or the space to use my bow.

Oh well I was hardly without weapons. I soon had out my combi-stick and I had it extended so that it formed a sleek spear. It was ready to skewer the young hero, but I forced myself to hold back from the killing blow just as I was sure Bruce Wayne would have done. I didn't want to remove Gotham's one true hero from the world.

So I put the staff away and retracted my wrist blades. Then I took up a fighting stance not that unlike the one Bruce Wayne was now using. Which my mentor had taught me. Apparently, two separate species in two separate corners of the multiverse had both developed similar principles about fighting. Perhaps the language of martial arts was universal.

I attacked and found my every move either countered or avoided. I had the height and weight advantage, for a change, while the young dark knight had speed on his side.

Which he was using to duck and weave, while landing a series of blows. Had I not been wearing such tough armour it might be possible for my foe to wear me down, but he had to be doing more damage to his hands than to my body.

Despite all that the future Batman didn't give up, he did however make a mistake which allowed me grab and throw him. He soared through the air, crashed into a partially constructed brick wall, and crumpled in a heap.

Sensing victory, I charged forwards. My wrist blades ready to impale the young Batman, but I was able to stop myself. Instead of killing him I took off my mask.

"Now that was fight" I said cheerfully.

Bruce Wayne jumped to his feet and our gazes locked for a few seconds, and then he did something unexpected, he nodded in admiration. As for me I just walked away, but not before taking one of Bruce's sort of batarangs as a trophy. I had after all won the fight.

"What are you?" he asked me with a coarse voice.

I struggled for a reply. I didn't really have an answer for him because I didn't know who or what I really was.

"Someone who won't return here" was what I decided to say "But there are others like me and they don't show mercy. Be careful Mr Wayne".

I wanted to come back and fight him again when he was older, and more experienced, but perhaps not. I'd won this round because he wasn't yet Batman, not truly, however next time he could be.

With that I placed my mask back on and cloaked. I wasn't worried about him coming after me, he was too badly injured. The way he'd been holding his ribs told me that so I had time to gather my lost net before returning to my ship.

Then I would leave this world. I'd gotten what I needed from it.

(Line Break)

 **Scout Ship. Outside Gotham.**

I sat in what passed for the cockpit of my ship and drifted off to sleep, knowing that I was safe here, only to be rudely awoken by a message. Apparently someone had stolen a scout ship belonging to my clan from the Yautja station and last been spotted entering a reality which had so far not been mapped.

Because everyone else was busy preparing for a war the Clan Leader had sent me to discover what was going on. I was to investigate and summon reinforcements if required, if possible I was to terminate the Yautja bad blood who was considered to bloodthirsty monster by Predator standards.

"So off on another adventure" I said to myself.

I realised then that I really should find a partner who could handle the whole hunting thing in the long run. Otherwise I really was going to go very odd. Plus it would be nice to have help the next time I was sent off to die on some foolish mission.

(Line Break)

 **Wayne Manor. Outside Gotham.**

"So who or what do you think it was Master Bruce?" Alfred asked as he bandaged up his ward's busted up rib "Government super solider? An ancient warrior in magical armour?".

They'd both seen some very weird things over the last few years. People who came back from the dead being among the oddest. Neither of them would rule out such possibilities as super soilders.

"I really have no idea" Bruce replied "I think he was a man, and in a funny way he had a sense of honour. He chose to spar my life I'm sure of it".

That was when the windows rattled slightly and both men found their attention taken up by what was now outside the window. It was gone very quickly, however it had clearly been there.

"Well he told he was leaving" Bruce said.

Alfred was more shocked.

"That was an alien space" the Butler said "So the man you fought tonight was an alien?".

Bruce couldn't be sure.

"No one would ever believe us" the younger of the two men was now saying "So let's just keep it between us. Everyone else will forget as soon as something else hits the news stations".

After all this was Gotham. Give it a week and something strange was bound to happen.


	13. Trek

**Author's Note.**

This is a little bit different than what I normally do. Thanks to Joe Lawyer for beta reading this chapter for me, it was barely readable before.

 **Predator Gothic**

 **Trek Dimension**

 _Captain's Log_

 _The Enterprise is currently en route to the planet Styx 3 in the Tartarus sector to investigate the sudden loss of communication with a research station. The last report from the station was that of several crew members going missing. We hope to find out more once we arrive._

Bridge. Enterprise.

Captain Picard leaned back in his command chair and looked around the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Sitting in the seat beside him was the ship's first officer, Commander William Riker, who was at this time studying some report. If it was anything other than routine paperwork then Riker would let the Captain know.

"What's our ETA, Mr. Data?" Picard asked.

The android turned in his seat.

"We will arrive in the Styx system in just under four minutes, Captain," replied the android in the form of a man.

Normally Data would give a more precise answer, down to the second, but he seemed to be getting out of the habit of doing that.

"So, what is it they're studying out here on the edge of nowhere?" asked Deanna Troi.

The betazoid/human hybrid was occupying the seat to the Captain's left.

"Styx 3 is surrounded by an unstable debris ring that was formed when the planet's two small moons exploded for unknown reasons," Data reported. "The station is studying the effects of long term meteor bombardment on the planetary crust as well as the unusual radiation being produced by the ring".

That could explain the lack of communication, some piece of debris could have struck the station.

"And the crew complement?" asked Picard.

"The research station has over three hundred crew, mostly civilian scientists, with some Starfleet officers in support roles," the android told the captain. "There is a small security contingent made up of Starfleet officers, but they number only ten".

 _Not a lot in the way of defenses,_ Picard noted to himself.

"I wonder what's going on over there," muttered Riker. "It might be some sort of attack, we're not far from Tholian space and they are known for suddenly seizing worlds outside their borders while claiming it was their space in order to justify the attacks".

That was a possibility.

"That's what we're here to find out Commander," Picard said.

"We are now entering the Styx system, Captain," reported a fresh faced lieutenant who was at the helm.

"Drop to one quarter impulse, Lieutenant Clarke," the captain ordered. "Data scan the area for vessels. Mr. Worf ready shields and weapons, we shouldn't rule out an attack".

It was best to be careful.

"Scanning sir," said Data, "no vessels in range".

Given that cloaking technology was always a possibility there might still be ships out there, but they were a long way from Romulan and Klingon claimed space.

"Life signs?" Picard wondered.

None were reported, however the debris fields made scans from orbit less than precise.

"See if you can raise the station," Riker said next.

"Hailing frequencies open," Wolf replied. "No response commander".

Picard felt oddly concerned. There was no actual sign of danger. A simple malfunction could easily explain the loss of communications, but then again, there had been that report about missing people before the station went dark.

"Take us into standard orbit," the captain commanded. "That should place us between the planet and the belt, and hopefully allow us to get a better scan of the planet".

"Aye aye sir, standard orbit," the young officer at helm replied.

The mighty flagship of the Federation didn't take long to move into position.

"Try hailing them again, Lieutenant," Picard ordered, "we might have more luck on short range".

"Frequencies open," Worf soon said.

The bridge crew waited patiently for a response.

"Still no response, sir," the Klingon reported dutifully.

"Any life signs?" Riker asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, there appears to be damage to the station's fusion reactors. It's leaking radiation. The sensors can't get a clear reading on the interior through the interference," Worf said.

"Damn," muttered Riker, who soon raised his voice. "I hate going into a situation blind".

Still, if they could render aid then they should.

"Number One, take an Away Team, fully armed and find out what's going on down there," the Captain ordered.

"Aye sir," said Riker as he turned his head to face the ops station."Lt. Worf, assemble a security team and meet me in transporter room two."

(Line Break)

Transporter Room. Enterprise.

Riker studied his team as they entered the transporter room. Worf had decided to take three members of security as well as a medical officer. All of the security officers were carrying phaser rifles as well as standard phasers and tricorders. This meant that they had a lot more firepower than was normal for most away teams, but that was fine with the Commander since he had absolutely no idea what to expect within the base.

"All set?" the most senior of the gather officers, queried.

The assembled team nodded.

"Ok, ladies and gentlemen, here's the deal," Riker explained. "We received a subspace distress signal from the station a few days ago. The message told us that members of the station personnel were inexplicably going missing. The station administrator requested assistance and we've heard nothing from them since. So I want everyone to be extra vigilant. Any questions?"

There was only silence.

"Let's go then".

With that they climbed onto the transporter pad. The crewman at the controls frowned at her console.

"Problem?" Riker enquired.

"Just having difficulty getting a clear lock from the station sir," the operations chief replied. "The radiation is playing havoc with the sensors".

At times like this Riker missed Chief O'Brien who could seemingly work miracles with a transporter, but the new transporter chief wasn't so bad at her job.

"There, got it now," they were soon told.

"Energize," Riker ordered a moment later.

(Line Break)

 **Research Station. Styx 3.**

The first thing Commander Riker noted about the Federation science station was the high heat and humidity. Either life support was failing or someone had turned up the heat.

"Feels like a Turkish steam bath in here," commented Lieutenant Heins.

Heins was one of the Enterprises longest serving security officers

"More like the heat one would feel during the Klingon ritual of Kal'Hyah," Work stated.

 _Kal'Hyah_ was the path of clarity, sometimes referred to as a "Klingon bachelor party". It was a "mental and spiritual journey" that the groom and his closest male friends took part in before the wedding.

Ensign Masters, one of the newer security officers, took out his tricorder and began scanning.

"Anything?" asked Riker.

"Sir, the radiation is cutting the range down quite a bit, but I am picking up a life sign," replied Masters. "Approximately fifty meters from our position; looks like it's in station Ops".

The Commander tapped his comm badge.

"Riker to Enterprise"

 _"Enterprise here, go ahead Number One"_

Picard's voice was somewhat distorted. The interference from the debris field was obviously still effecting communications, but thankfully not making it impossible.

"So far the station appears deserted, but we have picked up one life sign, not far from our present position. Permission to search for this life sign?" Riker requested.

Picard soon replied.

 _"Proceed with caution. Enterprise out"_

"Ensigns Masters and Robbins take the rear," Riker ordered. "Lieutenant Heins, you lead the way".

There was a brief chorus of "aye aye sir's" and the small party moved on.

The station was eerily quiet as the team proceeded down the empty corridors. The only sound was the hum of the station life support, the environmental control systems and the dripping of condensed water off various surfaces. Unsurprising given the extremely high humidity. Those systems seemed to be operating and using much more energy than they should. This meant that someone had indeed turned up the heat. However the lights had been lowered or even smashed, it was as if someone here wanted it dark, hot and damp.

Eventually the party reached the turbo lift which would take them up to the station's operations centre. They stepped in and the doors whooshed shut.

(Line Break)

 **Research Station. Styx 3.**

The operations centre seemed as empty as the rest of the station, Riker soon noticed, as he stepped out of the turbo lift and carefully looked around the apparently empty room.

This room had two levels and was rather large considering the size of the station, but it was not a Starfleet base; it was mostly a civilian operation so it would obviously use a different design than what Riker would be used to.

"Well, Ensign Masters?" he asked. "Has the life sign moved?"

The officer checked his tricorder again.

"There should be someone here," replied Ensign Masters, who was sounding frustrated. "I'm definitely reading one human life sign".

As if in response to his words a phaser beam that came from an overhead walkway hit Ensign Masters in the shoulder, spinning him around and to the ground. The attack caused the young crewmen to drop his weapon and tricoder just before he hit the ground hard.

"Get down!" yelled Riker as he snapped off a shot at the source of the blast.

The rest of the team dived for cover. Only the medical officer, a young Bolian woman, didn't take shelter, she headed over to where Masters lay and began running her medical tricorder over him. Wolf crouched over a console and covered them with his rifle as best he could.

Meanwhile Heins risked a glance over the top of the console he was hiding behind and was forced to immediately duck as another blast nearly took his head off.

"You won't get me, you bastard!" an unfamiliar voice shouted out.

Well it sounded human at least, even if the source of the words wasn't friendly.

"This is Commander Riker of the Federation starship Enterprise," shouted out Riker. "We mean you no harm!"

The only reply was a phaser blast that vaporized part of the console he was using for cover.

Since it was clear that the shooter was not going to listen to reason the commander looked over at Worf who began firing as did the other security officers. Not with the intention of hitting anyone, they were merely providing Riker with a distraction so he could get up to the second level.

The plan worked perfectly. Riker was able to disable the shooter, who turned out to be a traumatized Starfleet officer, without anyone else getting seriously injured.

"Everyone okay?" he asked, once all the shooting had stopped.

They all nodded, and Riker went to check on the wounded member of his away team.

"How about you ensign?"

Ensigns Masters was in no danger.

"I'll live sir," he replied with a grimace, "the beam just grazed me."

"I've given him something for the pain," reported Borla, the Bolian doctor, while snapping shut her med kit. "He'll be fine, but I'd like to take him to sickbay and have him undergo dermal regeneration sooner rather later so we can avoid permanent scarring".

She then walked over to the unconscious man and ran her tricorder over his still form.

"Mild dehydration and malnutrition, signs of elevated blood pressure suggesting extreme prolonged stress, but otherwise healthy," she said, reading the display. "He's going to be out for a while though".

"Suits me," muttered Masters. "As long as he isn't shooting at us".

"I know what you mean," the other Ensign agreed.

He was looking at the remains of the console he had been hiding behind, it had not fared well.

"Lieutenant Heins, see if you can access the station's computer and find out what exactly has been going on around here," Riker ordered.

Soon the lieutenant was working at one of the computer stations, some of which were still working despite all the phaser fire.

"Worf, take Robbins and check out the rest of this level," was the commander's next order.

Then he tapped his commbadge.

"Riker to Enterprise."

 _"Go ahead, Commander"_

"We've been attacked by someone who may be one of the station's crew," Riker reported.

 _"Casualties?"_

Riker could hear the worry in Picard's voice.

"Masters took a grazing hit to the shoulder, but Borla says he'll be fine" Riker reported. "The crewmen who fired on us is out for now, but not in any danger. Hopefully he'll have calmed down when he wakes up and can tell us what's been going on around here".

The Captain's relief was evident without anything further needing to be said.

 _"Any sign of the rest of the station's crew?"_ Picard enquired.

"Not so far. I've got Lieutenant Worf conducting a search of the command level, but so far we've seen no sign of anyone except our trigger happy friend," said Riker. "I've got Lieutenant Heins on the computer trying to access the station's log; I'll let you know if anything turns up".

 _"Understood Commander. Enterprise out"._

Riker then turned to Heins

"Got anything yet?" he asked.

"Not much I'm afraid, sir," replied the less senior of the two Starfleet officers. "Looks like the main core has been affected by the radiation; a lot of the stored data's been corrupted beyond retrieval. Which is odd because it should all be shielded, it looks like someone's been messing with the systems other than life support".

Well, that was certainly odd. Will could only assume that the clearly unhinged Starfleet officer currently getting much needed medical attention had been messing with the station's control systems. He would normally have had the man beamed to the Enterprise by now, but he was going to need some questions answered once that man was awake.

"Did you get anything useful?" Riker asked.

The Lieutenant nodded.

"Well, I've got an ID on our trigger happy friend," Heins said as he gestured at the unconscious man. "He's Lieutenant-Commander Timbers, the station's chief engineer".

"Well, I suppose it's something," Riker said.

This was when his badge chirped.

 _"Worf to Riker"_

The Commander tapped his badge.

"Go ahead, Lieutenant".

"I think we've found something, Commander. We're picking up some strange readings coming from the mess hall," reported the Klingon.

Thinking fast the experienced officer decided what to do next.

"We're on our way," Riker said as he turned to the rest of his team "Masters, you're with me. Borla, stay and look after our friend here, and you keep on that computer Heins. See if you can get anything else useful out of it".

(Line Break)

 **Science Station. Styx 3**

Before long Riker and Masters found Worf and Robbins standing outside the door to the mess hall.

"What have you got?" asked the Enterprise's first officer.

"I'm not sure Commander" Worf admitted as he checked his tricorder "It is a life sign, however the signal keeps fading in and out, one minute it's there, and then it's gone. The radiation is causing interference, but I should be able to get a clear reading at this distance".

Riker soon came up with a plan of action.

"Worf, you and I will enter through this door while Masters and Robbins go in through the sides" he decided "Keep your phaser ready to fire but I want them on stun. This could be another traumatized survivor".

Once everyone was ready Riker slapped his hand on the door control. With a swish the doors slid aside and the party surged inside, phasers ready, and they all came to a sudden stop upon seeing the scene inside the mess hall. They had found the rest of the stations crew, or what remained of them.

Their flayed, and sometimes headless, corpses hung suspended upside down from the ceiling, like sides of beef in an old fashioned butchers shop. Masters swore viciously while Robbins was soon being violently sick in the corner. Riker didn't blame him; he was feeling a bit queasy himself. Even Worf was looking unsettled.

"Where's that signal coming from Lieutenant?" Riker asked quietly.

"I can't tell sir, I'm still having difficulty getting a clear reading" Worf replied.

Riker raised his phaser as he saw something moving on the far side of the room. A heat wave like shimmer in the darkness.

"It's coming from that direction" Robbins called out, his eyes fixed on the tricorder's readout.

For Riker, what happened next was all in slow motion. For a split second he saw a figure appear in the corner. It was approximately seven feet tall, heavily built, and it was wearing strange armor with a very angular facemask, with long dreadlocks hanging out the back.

From its shoulder sprung a bright flash of intense blue light and Robbins's chest exploded in flame. The young officer looked down in stunned disbelief at the smouldering mess that used to be torso before collapsing lifelessly to the floor.

Worf yelled a Klingon battle cry and fired his phaser as the apparition disappeared again. He was joined a split second later by the others who fired blindly into the room. The cadavers didn't react to the stun shots and neither did anything else they hit since they weren't alive.

From the corner of his eye, Riker caught a glimpse of the heatwave shimmer disappearing through a hole in the wall.

"Hold your fire!" he yelled.

The others stopped firing and soon Riker knelt down besides the Ensign's still smoking body. In the centre of his chest there was a fist sized hole burnt clear through.

"What the hell was that?" whispered Masters, his voice quavering.

"Looked like some kind of high energy plasma bolt" Worf stated, his normally calm voice wavering as he fought to control his Klingon battle lust "But I've never seen any plasma weapon do this to a man"

 _What the hell are we dealing with?_ Riker wondered.

(Line Break)

 **Bridge. USS Enterprise.**

"Captain I am detecting something that may be a cloaked ship" Data reported.

That got Picard's attention.

"Where is this ship?" he asked.

Data switched the image on the view screen to show a small craft that could just barely be seen.

"Radiation from the debris belt seems to be interfering with the cloaking device this ship uses, otherwise it is highly unlikely we would have detected it," Data was now saying.

"I sense nothing from the ship" Deanna told the captain.

That however didn't mean there wasn't anyone on board. If there were life forms within the ship they might just have a way to hide themselves from empathic scans. It could even have a crew made up of robots.

"Open a channel" said Picard, while standing up.

"Hailing frequencies open" a random crewmen said.

"This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S Enterprise" he announced "You have entered Federation space. Explain your presence here".

Normally Picard was more diplomatic, but he didn't believe for a second that a cloaked ship being in orbit of this planet had nothing to do with the lack of communications.

"Please respond" the captain then urged.

He waited.

"No response captain" said the crew member at ops.

Picard considered what to do. Beaming anyone over to the unknown alien ship seemed unwise, and there was a chance that it truly was devoid of crew. Perhaps it was a victim of whatever foul fate had befallen the science station.

"Tractor the vessel on board" the captain ordered "Perhaps we can still get some answers".

His order was soon carried out.

"Wait a minute... Captain I'm picking up an energy build up in the vessels engine" Data informed the bridge "They may be activating a self destruct system".

The ship's captain reacted quickly.

"Break off tractor beam, raise shields, and put some distance between as that ship" Picard command.

"I'm trying sir, helm is sluggish" reported the helmsmen.

"Vessels core is approaching critical" Data calmly reported.

On the view screen the ship disappeared in a soundless flash, and the Enterprise shook as a shock wave struck it.

(Line Break)

 **Science Station. Styx 3.**

The Away Team, minus one, assembled in the operations room.

"What's the situation?" Riker demanded to know of Lt Hiens.

"Not good sir" he replied "I can't raise the Enterprise and most of the stations sensors are down, so I can't even tell if the ship is still out there. But that isn't the worst of it".

How could things possibly get any worse?

"That blast that shook the station was the result of a high energy plasma burst hitting the stations fusion reactor" the officer reported.

"Then why have we still got power? Why haven't the safeties shut it down? asked Riker.

"Whoever did this knew exactly how to cause the most damage to the reactor without outright destroying the station. All the safety subsystems were disabled and now the reactor is building up to overload"

"How long have we got?" Riker asked.

"Two hours and fourteen minutes before the containment field collapses"

"Is there any way off this station?" asked Borla, nervously.

"Well the station does have one Danube class runabout assigned to it, but..."

Henis left the sentence hanging.

"But what?" asked Masters.

Henis wasn't sure enough to come out and say it directly, but it seemed likely that the only way off this death trap was a little too easy to find. It had to be a trick of some kind.

"Well, would you hang around a station with a psychopathic alien wandering loose?" said the officer.

None of them would.

"Good question" said Riker "Why don't we ask our friend here. Borla, can you wake him up"

"Aye sir" said the Bolian medic as she took a hypospray from her kit and touched it to the neck of the engineer "Just give him a moment or two".

There was brief hiss and before long Lieutenant-Commander Timbers began to wake up.

"How do you feel?" the medic asked him.

"Like someone set the inside of my head on fire" Lieutenant-Commander Timbers, said as he looked around "Who the hell are you people?"

"I'm Commander Riker of the Federation Starship Enterprise" Riker explained "We came here in response to your distress signal".

The Lieutenant-Commander blinked a few times.

"You need to beam us out of here now" he strongly advised.

"We can't, we've been unable to contact the ship" said Riker "And the reactor is going to overload.

Not exactly the best news to wake up to, but at least the officer was much calmer now and not shooting at this allies.

"Then we're already dead," stated Lieutenant-Commander Timbers.

"What happened here?" asked Ensign Masters "Where's the rest of the crew?"

"They're all dead" Lieutenant-Commander Timbers stated, his calmness no doubt a product of being given a mild sedative "I'm all that's left".

While Riker didn't like to think about the mess hall he knew that the station complement was higher than the amount of bodies he'd seen.

"Tell us what happened" said Riker, speaking gently.

Lieutenant-Commander Timbers quickly explained about how at first people just went missing while working alone, and then whole groups vanished, until finally the unknown alien just began slaughtering everybody without any further regard for stealth.

"Why didn't you contact Starfleet?" asked Riker

"Something was jamming our comm system" explained Timbers "At first we thought it was the debris belt, now I'm not so sure. Maybe the alien who did all the killing set up some kind of jammer".

"Did you see what was attacking you?" was Riker's next question.

"Nah, whatever it was it had some kind of personal cloaking device, the only warning we ever got of it being close by was when it killed someone, and even then it would quickly disappear again" Lieutenant-Commander Timbers, answered.

Riker looked at Work

"What do you think?" he asked.

The Klingon gave it some thought.

"No race we have met has perfected personal cloaking devices" he said "Nor have we met any creature willing to act so dishonourably as to mutilate the dead. Some of the bodies even had their heads removed. I do not know why".

Riker gave the matter some thought.

"Does it always mutilate its victim?" he asked Timbers.

"Aye, sometimes it takes the head, and nearly always skins its victims before putting them on display" Timbers answered.

"Yes, we saw them" Riker muttered darkly.

"Why would it mutilate them?" asked the Bolian woman.

"Trophies" replied Riker.

"Trophies?" Master asked,

"Yes, think about it. It hunts its prey down, kills them, and takes pieces of its victims as trophies" Riker was now saying "Hunters on Earth did it before the practice was banned in the late Twenty-First century. Granted they didn't hunt people, just animals, which means this thing doesn't see us as people. To it we're animals, fit only for sport".

Suddenly the station jolted, an alarm began to ring stridently. Heins rushed over to a console.

"The containment field around the fusion reactors is losing integrity faster than expected Commander" he reported "Computer estimates one hour and thirty two minutes till overload",

"I think now would be a good time to leave" commented Masters.

Riker agreed.

"Timbres, what about the station's runabout?" the commander wondered "Is it still functional?".

"It was last time I checked, but there's a small problem" Lieutenant-Commander Timbers said "Anyone who's tried to make it to the shuttle bay dies. And even if we get there this alien knows enough about our technology to sabotage it".

The unknown life form was bloodthirsty and very clever. It had been able to damage the station's reactor without blowing itself up. Clearly it had its own plan of escape. But Riker saw no other course of action other than to head for the shuttle bay.

"Alright, let's get moving" he ordered. "I want constant scans. If anything so much as twitches and it's not one of us, shoot it, and don't bother with stun. Set all weapons to kill".

"Aye sir" said a pleased looking Worf, who rarely got that order.

"Timbers you know the way, you lead"

The Lieutenant-Commander did not look happy about that, but he didn't disobey the order and led the group to the turbo lift.

There was an inhuman roar now filling the air.

"I think that is our cue to run" said Masters.

With a last look behind him, Riker followed his away team and the engineer down the corridor.

"I've got a bad feeling about this" Masters grumbled.

(Line Break)

A few minutes later they reached the bottom of the corridor. In front of them was a closed door. This was all that barred their way to safety. Along the way they'd lost two security officers to some sort of booby trap that had turned them both into bloody chunks, and Timbers was half carrying the team's medic after she'd gotten her foot stuck in some kind of high tech looking bear trap. But despite all the horror the team had kept going.

"Are you alright commander?" asked Worf.

The Commander had certainly seen better days.

"I'll live lieutenant." replied Riker grimly. "Let's get to that runabout and get the hell out of here".

Slowly they eased the door open and looked inside. Riker had never seen such a sweet sight, a Starfleet runabout.

"Warning! Containment field failure imminent. Core breach in ten minutes" announced the calm voice of the computer.

At times like this he really hated that voice.

(Line Break)

 **Runabout. Orbit of Styx 3**

 _"Enterprise to Runabout"_

Riker opened a channel.

"Commander Riker here," he said tiredly, "what took you so long?"

"Sorry Number One," replied Picard "We've had a few problems of our own, an unknown alien space craft blew itself up when we tried to tractor it in. The Enterprise was damaged by the explosion, but Mr La Forge managed to work his particular brand of magic in engineering. What's your status?".

"There are only four of us left captain" Riker told his senior officer "Myself and Mr Worf are fine. We also recovered a member of the stations crew and medical officer Bolia should recover from her leg injury, but we lost the rest of the team".

There was a brief silence as Captain Picard digested this grim information.

"Understood Number One." he said finally "Come on home".

The runabout entered the shuttle bay without incident and drifted slowly to a halt. Riker levered himself out of the seat and went to the door. As he began unlocking the door he noticed a slight ripple in the air, and then everything went dark.

(Line Break)

Sickbay. U.S.S Enterprise.

He awoke up some time later. Trying to sit up just made his head spin, so he gave it up as a bad idea and lay back on the biobed.

"Glad to see you're still with us" said Picard a few moments later "And before you start worrying, the unknown alien life form was beamed off the ship and into the debris belt thanks to the quick thinking of Mr Timbers. Mr Worf was able to subdue the creature for a few seconds and buy just enough time for the beam out to be successful. You only suffered a minor head injury. Worf has three broken ribs, a nasty concussion and a broken nose"

Riker winced. Even for a Klingon that was some punishment.

"I'm looking forward to reading your report on this Commander" Picard said seriously.

"I'm not looking forward to writing it" Riker let this captain know.

Feelings of guilt and regret were overwhelming him as he remembered his fallen crewmembers, all of whom were lost under his command. With a career as long as Riker's casualties were inevitable, but never so many on a single mission. Not when in peacetime.

"Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Do we have any idea where it came from?" Riker wished to know.

"I don't know commander" Picard said "But somehow I don't think we've seen the last of them. But for now you should focus on your recovery. We'll be leaving orbit soon for Starbase 12. Now try to get some rest".

William T Riker didn't think he'd be resting well again for a long, long time.

(Line Break)

Moments after the Enterprise went to warp, a new vessel, very much like the one that the unknown alien had blown up rather than let it be captured, entered the system. It began to take scans as its one occupant tried to make some sense of what had happened here.

(Line Break)

 **Cockpit. Scout Ship.**

When I arrived at the last known location of the stolen vessel I found no traces of it. So I scanned the large field of debris around the planet and discovered what could be fragments of a ship, but there was too much interference to be sure of anything.

I was almost certain that down on the planet below some star base or maybe even a small colony, had been blown sky high and I wondered if the Yautja I'd been sent to track down had blown himself up for some reason.

He was a criminal after all, and they could do extremely foolish things when desperate. Perhaps he had chosen to hunt the locals in one last desperate hunt, or maybe even hoping to attract enough attention to ditch his stolen vessel to escape detection in a local's ship.

Perhaps I would never know. I could only guess.

With nothing other than a few sensor scans to send as a report I headed back to the Yautja station. If my clan didn't have another mission for me I'd move on to scouting more new worlds, to seeking out new life and new civilizations, and just maybe I'd get some hunting done.


	14. B5 1

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 14**

 **Yautja Station. AVP Universe**

Shortly after returning to the bar, which was run by some version of Xander Harris, who was much tougher than the version you see on TV, the bartender had led to me part of the station I'd never seen before.

Within the massive room I saw the single tallest Yautja I'd ever met. She had to be nine feet tall at least and she, it was clear to see that this Predator was female, was also the skinniest example of the species I'd ever met. She looked as if she'd been stretched on a rack. Given how odd the Predators were as a species it was possible she had been.

Far more interesting than the female Predator was the space she worked in. It was clearly some sort of lab, although not one a human would ever design. Computer stations filled with data sat inside transparent sphere which only projected data when someone got close to them.

Along the walls were displays cases, all of which were built into the walls, and they contained a very odd mixture of things. The displays ranged from suits of armour, weapons of many different kinds, to life sized models of different kinds of xenomorphs, all the way to small devices that I couldn't even guess a purpose for.

Also I was sure that there was much more that I wasn't seeing since the far wall looked to be blank. The Predators liked being able to put things out of sight when possible, I'd never been able to figure out why. Humans like having things on display, not always to show wealth, sometimes simply because they liked to personalise their living and working spaces when possible. Yautja clearly didn't share this desire anywhere nearly as strongly as humans did.

In the very centre of the room the very tall Yautja stood in a bubble of some kind, which was surrounded by a holographic display of a binary star system, the lighting effect from this made everything seemed even more mysterious.

"I'm sure she has a name" Xander told me, his voice very gruff "But we just call her the Collector, this is just one of her labs, she works here mostly, but she sometimes goes somewhere else. Most of us, well those of us who know about her and hang out my bar, come to her when we need something special, like better armour or improved weapons, but she always wants something in trade. Like information, advanced or just strange bits of tech. Even for a Predators she's odd, but don't worry she likes humans".

::Of course I like humans, they taste great::

It didn't take me long to figure out that the odd voice I'd just heard meant that this scientist Yautja had some sort of translator in effect, which meant I didn't have to bother waiting for a translation from my mask, and I assumed this Collector would understand me.

Also for the sake of my sanity I made myself believe that she was one of those Predators who had an odd sense of humour, like my mentor. Although I knew the Yautja had a taste for raw beef so perhaps they could stomach eating uncooked or cooked human.

"So you want me to go out and bring you back some tech?" I asked.

I didn't get an answer right away. The Collector seemed to have her focus divided.

::My plan is a bit more complex than a mere trade between us. I can of course offer you better weapons, armour and even upgrades for your ship in exchange for information, and other things I can study. However most deals are one time. I am seeking a supplier, I think that is the human term, someone who can supply my needs in the long term::

I had to admit that this did sound interesting. And I did already know what this strange Yautja desired.

::As a human you can go places I can not::

A big hologram filled the air showing different systems, and space stations. one of which I recognised.

"Hey that's B5!" Harris called out before I could.

Indeed it did look like that station, and I wouldn't mind visiting there. For a short time when the Shadows weren't around. I didn't fancy tangling with any First Ones.

"Right now I so miss my commemorative plates" Harris mentioned.

There was nothing anyone could say about that. Not without being mean, so we got on with the business at hand.

::Bring me star charts, planetary surveys, cultural information, the histories of different races, so that I can study new worlds. This information will perhaps be of value to the Ancients in their war::

I wasn't sure how that could be given that they would be too busy fighting a war to assign new worlds as hunting grounds. After giving it some thought I reasoned that perhaps not all the clans had chosen sides. If that was the case then perhaps the promise of new hunting ground was something the Elders could use to sway those clans over to their side. I couldn't say for certain as the Predators were still so alien to me, however it would explain why such knowledge could be so valuable at this time.

::Maybe you will even recover technology of use to the the Yautja::

I gave this all some thought. I couldn't trade Predator tech, and I didn't have fortunes in say gemstones or rare metals so I'd need information of my own to trade. Then as I acquired more and more information I could set my sites on obtaining stuff of more physical value.

"For starters I'll need stuff to trade" I said to the tall alien in the bubble "I've salvaged some tech from the colonial marines which other human groups might want".

If I remembered correctly Earth Alliance ships in the Babylon 5 verse either had parts than span or just didn't have gravity at all. Colonial Marine ships did have artificial gravity if I recalled. Perhaps I could trade that tech for star charts and planetary surveys. It was a place to start.

Of course I'd need to figure out how to download information using computers way ahead of my time, which was going to be tricky. The Yautja expected hunters to figure things out for themselves, to be as independent as possible so they didn't have IT support I could call upon.

::Would this help::

I was shown a hologram of a USCM ship, and while it was hard to tell the scale it looked as if it was much large than the others I'd seen. It was also floating in space and almost in two pieces.

Parts of it could still have life support, and if they did then I could get a physical example of the artificial gravity technology. Maybe even access to a complete database, which would include stuff like terraforming tech and who knew that else.

"Yeah that could help" I said "I could also do with some sort of authorisation. Something like a recorded message I could show to anyone so they'll know I'm on a mission that the Ancients have approved".

Getting on to B5 would be way easier if I could claim to be an Ambassador of sorts. I wasn't sure if the Yautja even had a word for diplomat, but as long as I had something that made me seem official then that would make things much easier for me. Also I didn't know if a female could approve this mission as they tended to take care of internal matters more than anything else, however if this was important it shouldn't be hard to get someone in authority to give my mission their blessing.

::I will speak to my Clan's elder. This agreement will benefit your clan as well. The rewards of a job well done will be great::

While I didn't really have an over all goal I did fancy one day being a Clan Leader with my own mother ship, who was free to go where he wished. Not being Yautja made that seem impossible, but it was nice to have something to aspire to.

Of course simply acquiring information and a few odd bits of technology wouldn't be enough for me to reach such lofty heights. To even have a chance of becoming just an Elite Hunter I'd have to obtain many more trophies and I'd have to be declared a master of a certain weapon, such as the wrist blade or spear. But I could think about such things later.

"I'll take the job" I told the Collector.

Harris then placed an arm on my shoulder.

"You'll need a partner" he said "Someone to keep you company, and I have someone in mind".

Why did I suddenly have a strong sense of foreboding?

(Line Break)

 **Bar. Yautja Station.**

At some point in their lives I'm sure every guy is set up by a friend/brother, /co-worker so that he ends up on a date with some girl his friend/brother/co-worker thinks is somehow suitable for him.

Most of the time this just results in awkwardness, and rarely does it work out. However Harris wasn't really my friend, or anyone important to me, and I'd been introduced to this woman as more of a potential business partner than a romantic one. Which did make it far less awkward for me.

The woman, who was currently stealing food off my plate, something the female of my species seemed to think was okay to do hungry males, was telling me about her life. So far she was making my life seem sane and a little boring. But to be fair she was a version of Sarah Connor.

"So let me get this straight" I said between sips of some sort of green fluid that Harris dared to call wine "A Terminator comes back in time to protect you. While your fighting other Terminators, along with Kyle Reese, some Predators turn up and decide to fight with you because they want robot heads for trophies I guess. And this leads to you all travelling forward in time to defeat Skynet in the future, but because your son John is both the salvation and doom of mankind you had to go back and defeat him after he'd been turned into a sort of Terminator".

Okay I could see why that didn't make that into a film. Even for the Terminator franchise her story was confusing.

"So how is John Connor the doom of mankind?" I wondered "Isn't he suppose to lead mankind to victory over Skynet?".

That part confused me. As did Sarah Connor herself, she was only wearing a wire mesh outfit, a thong and a leather jacket which was covered in bits of robot for decoration, which I assumed were parts of Terminators she'd taken down.

Her tits were more or less visible, even in the low light of the bar, and she'd taken off her jacket so I could get a better look. Not normal behaviour for someone on a date in public, assuming this was a date.

I was also sure that at some point she'd broken that whole hot/crazy scale and become a little like Harley Quinn, but to be fair anyone would be unhinged if they'd killed their son from an alternate time line in order to save the world from a genocidal AI.

"Skynet sent a Terminator to kill me because John was on verge of winning the war" Sarah explained "But that Terminator, which I took down, was what led to the creation of Skynet because parts of it survived to be back engineered. So I realised that if John was never born Skynet would never have created itself by sending a Terminator back in time to kill me. Or at least that was happened in the original time line".

Okay I was with her so far.

"So I went back in time and got my tubes tied, and convinced my younger self to do the same, so that John was never born, so he could never be converted into a Terminator by Skynet after nearly defeating it, and he can never go back to ensure the AI was born. John and Skynet need each other, without one you don't get the other".

Either I was very drunk or that made a lot of sense to me. Maybe I was crazy after all.

"So really you're the saviour of mankind" I said to Sarah "You were the chosen one the entire time, the hero of the story, and also the mother of mankind's damnation".

Her reply to that was just a nod.

"Anyway when it was all done I went back to what was the present for me, and there was just one Predator left" Sarah said after a while "He invited me to go with him and I did. We hunted, he trained me for a while, and I ended up here. I think the Predator who trained me either died or forgot about me. Fucking stupid aliens".

Given that the Yautja had an honour code I suspected it was the former rather than the later since abandoning a student would not be honourable. He or she would be far more likely to kill Sarah rather than simply abandoned her.

"And I've been here ever seen, mooching as Alex puts it" Sarah told me.

Which helped to explain why he was trying to unload her on me. He had a business to run, and that wouldn't be helped by having a crazy, but also very hot, chick hanging around his bar.

Also I noticed that she called him 'Alex' which suggested that they were close and had known each other for a while. This made me wonder if they'd been planning to use me to expand Harris's business for a while now.

If so I didn't really care. They meant me no harm, and I would be getting a share of the profits, in terms of upgrades. I didn't care of there was money to be made I wasn't a material person any more.

"I suppose we should talk about our business deal" I was now saying "I have the ship, the information and a plan of where to go. What can you offer to make it worth bringing you along?".

While she was nice to look at I got the feeling that it was possible that her teacher had abandoned her because she was hard to deal with. I was confident of her fighting skills, she was still Sarah Connor as such, but other than the only thing she knew how to be was a waitress.

"I was thinking of sucking your cock" Sarah said.

With that she got under the table and I really hoped that no one around here was using thermal imagining because that would be super awkward.

(Line Break)

 **C &C. Babylon 5**

Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova could best be described as stressed. No surprise there since events were somewhat overwhelming, Commander Sinclair was gone, the Mimbria ship _Trigati_ has been spotted near B5, security chief Garibaldi was in critical condition in medlab, Ambassador G'kar was missing with no explanation, Ambassador Delenn was in a cocoon for some reason, and who could forget the fact that the Earth Alliance President, Santiago, had died recently when Earthforce One exploded.

As if all that wasn't bad enough something very strange was about to happen. Which to be fair wasn't that odd here on B5, but the sheer amount of strangeness really didn't need adding to.

"There's an unknown ship" Lieutenant Corwin announced. "A small one, it just appeared out of no where".

Well this didn't sound good.

"It didn't come in through the jump gate" Ivanova demanded to know.

The younger officer shook his head.

"No it simply just appeared" he explained "One moment it wasn't there and now it is. But it is a small ship, maybe some sort of scout ship with advanced stealth technology?".

He had no idea how right he was.

"Probably," Ivanova agreed "But if it is here to spy on us it wouldn't just expose itself".

She spent a moment thinking. Should she power up the defence systems? Launch fighters?

"Scans?" she then enquired.

"No weapons as far as we can tell" another Earthforce officer reported.

Well that was something at least.

"Open a channel" the commander ordered.

"Aye aye"

The Commander took a deep breath.

"This is Babylon Control to unidentified vessel," Ivanova was soon saying "Please state your identity and intentions".

(Line Break)

Cockpit. Scout Ship.

I opened a channel and spoke only to realise that I was wearing my mask, which wasn't exactly friendly, also the comm system of my ship used holograms not 2d images so they wouldn't be able to see me.

"Babylon control to unidentified vessel, could you please repeat that?" Commander Ivanova was now saying.

Luckily the technology of this ship was pretty easy to use so before long I was able to get the hologram to display a 2d image. I might have been able to use one of the screens, but they were for displaying information not communications. Maybe I could hook up one of the computer tablets I'd picked up. Or maybe the Collector could upgrade for me.

"This is Gothic of the Scout Ship... "

I stopped because the ship didn't have a name. It really should have a name

"Infinity and Beyond" I then said.

That had randomly popped into my head.

"I'm requesting permission board Babylon Five for diplomatic purposes, and trade. Oh and some R&R" I finished by saying.

My plan was still to see if I could bluff them into treating me as a proper ambassador.

"Permission granted," Ivanova told me

"You may want to have someone meet us at the docking bay" I was now saying "We're from an area of space quite far from here as such we don't have any documentation or currency, but we do have something to offer your government. Hopefully we can make arrangements once we've docked. I'm authorised to speak for the Yuatja Clans so that we strike a deal".

Which was more or less true. Certainly I working for a high ranking female and an Elder had given his consent for me to gather information as long as I gave away no Yautja secrets, but if that made me an ambassador or not was open for interpretation.

"I'm sure we can," Ivanova said

Her voice was weary. Sounded as if someone had been working over time.

(Line Break)

 **C &C. Babylon 5**

"So," Ivanova said, mostly to herself "We have humans in an alien ship which just appeared out of no where wanting to make some kind of first contact, and I have to deal with it".

Only on B5.

"That's why they pay you the big bucks, ma'am," Corwin commented.

She wished.

"Lieutenant, they don't pay _any_ of us enough to deal with this," Ivanova replied.

Amen to that.

(Line Break)

 **Cockpit. Scout Ship.**

"Okay First rule of Babylon Five" I said to Sarah Conner as we began docking "No one on the station is precisely what they seem to be. If someone comes up to you and asks you 'what do you want?' you are to leave the immediately, inform me, and avoid that individual in the future. Trust me, you don't want to get caught up in what that person is selling".

Sure I knew that the Shadows and the people who worked for them weren't exactly the armies of darkness they might seem to be, but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous.

"Rule two. Don't trust anyone, that's also Rule 3".

I had more to say.

"Rule four. Stay out of the area called Downbelow unless you're looking for a fight. Likewise, there are sections where the atmosphere is not something we can breathe. Stay out of those sections unless you enjoy asphyxiating to death. Understand?".

"Yes sir," she mocked saluted.

It was a good thing she was so hot.

"So anything good to see while we're there" the women then asked.

"The gardens at the core are a good place to start," I said "The station has hydroponics. Could make for a nice walk. Beyond that, you might try the Zócalo, the central market of Babylon 5. I'll have to see about setting up some accounts, or we can barter some of the junk I've acquired".

With this craft I could have a made a decent living just salvaging from ships along the frontier of human space in the Aliens Verse Predator universe. But that part of space was where the trouble had started between the Clans. Somehow I didn't think that war would be over in a few big battles, more likely the Clans in the different factions would attempt to hunt each other, but still it was too dangerous to got back there again, I'd have to make my ends met somewhere else.

(Line Break)

 **Docking Bay. Babylon 5**

"You must be Gothic," Ivanova said upon seeing me "Welcome to Babylon 5. I'm sorry for the lack of a proper welcome. We're pretty busy, and your government didn't give us any warning that you were coming".

What passed for the Yuatja government didn't even care that B5 existed. They just wanted information.

"I'm aware," I said. "I'll try to take up as little of your time as possible. I'll present my offer, and if you think your government will be interested in what we're offering then I'm sure you can make arrangements for us to stay on the station. If you don't then we'll leave and try our luck with the Narn or the League".

Ivanova frowned. Clearly not liking the idea that I'd offer the tech to the Narn.

"Alright, we can talk in one of the conference rooms, but you'll have to make it quick" she said.

Which didn't sound very inviting, but to be fair I had no proof that I was anything more than a man who wore odd armour and carried a bow. Conner was dressed in weird mixture of biker gear, body armour. Plus we both had bits of dead animals and aliens hanging off us as trophies. Even for B5 we looked odd.

(Line Break)

 **Conference Room. Babylon 5**

"So you're aliens, that are also humans," Ivanova summarised.

I'd just finished explaining who/what Conner and I were. We were Yuatja by culture, being members of clans, or at least I was, but our biology was human, at least for the most part. How human exactly I didn't know. In retrospect I really should have stuck around on Atlantis more and let Doctor Keller run more scans.

"Essentially, I said.

"And you're here on behalf of these Yautja" Ivanova asked.

I'd shown her the holographic recording I had of an Elder saying I was on a mission he had authorised, but he'd been vague on what the mission was or what exactly it was I was authorised to do. Which meant I had no real power, but people might still think I did.

"Yes" I said "They really don't do diplomacy, so they'll happily let me speak for them on this matter".

In fact this sort of situation might be at least partly why I'd been adopted in the Shadow Blades Clan in the first place.

"I can tell you that the Yautja are a very old and powerful race with vastly superior technology to your own, however they are dealing with an internal siltation at the moment. A civil war is the best way I can describe it. There are factions, clans, that are criminals, like your raiders, and they've acquired a technology that is allowing them to fight the other clans. But the government, and the more powerful clans will deal with them, and I am working for them".

Which was the only way I could look at my life and have it make any sort of sense.

"War?" Ivanova asked "Does this war threaten Babylon 5?".

I shook my head.

"No," I then said "Its happening very far away, but if the war somehow threatens your people I will let you know".

It was highly doubtful unless the bad bloods somehow got their hands on what ever engine it was that allowed for travel to other realities. I didn't think they had it already or they'd be attacking with things other than domesticated xenomorphs.

They had no honour so they'd use any weapon they could get their hands on, no matter now horrible it was.

"I suppose that's something," the human woman, who was way hotter in person, was now saying. "So you're here to offer the Earth Alliance some technology?".

Well I was here to make a deal.

"I have access to technology you don't" I said "You lack artificial gravity for your ships. I have data and a device that generates artificial gravity for gravity on ships. In exchange I want star charts, planetary surveys that sort of thing. I have some other tech as well, which the Earth Alliance could benefit from, but that's something to consider in the future, for now my friend and I will need somewhere to stay".

With that I slide what was basically a data pad across the table. It contained basic information of the artificial gravity technology used by the UNSC. It had been prepared by the Collector, as some sort of report to the Elders or some high ranking females I assumed. There was no mention of who made the tech just basic information.

"I'll need to have someone go over this before I send it to Earth" the commander said "For now I'll have someone take you to VIP quarters".

She was being wise.

"Trust, but verify" I said with a smile.

Next I took something out of my pocket.

"Find someone who can do a proper scan of this" I said while giving the Earth Force officer one of my arrowheads "I know it looks primitive, but its made from a complex alloy. It should serve as proof of how advanced the Yautja are and give your scientists something to study".

I well remembered Predator 2 and the spear tip that made up of elements most of which humans had no knowledge of. Granted the humans here were more advanced but it should still impress them.


	15. B5 2

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 15  
**

 **Corridors. Babylon 5.**

"It's good to see you again sir," Ivanova said as she lead her new commanding officer, Captain John Sheridan, through the halls of Babylon 5. "How was your flight?".

There would be some small talk before they got down to business.

"Good, good," Sheridan replied "Did you know, they had fresh oranges on the flight here. I haven't had an orange in... oh must be two years. I used to dream about them. Grapes. Nectarines. Plums, the black ones not the red ones, it's amazing what two years on the rim can do to you. I imagine I'll be spending a lot of time in hydroponics".

It was a rather popular hangout, Susan knew this. And why not it was a massive garden in space.

"On the way in, I read the latest station reports" Sheridan was now saying "I've been trying to catch up on everything. But I've got to admit I don't really understand half of what I read".

Ivanova wasn't surprised.

"Well, right now our chief of security is in medlab in a coma, claims there's some sort of conspiracy behind Santiago's death. Ambassador G'Kar has mysteriously gone missing, we still don't know what Ambassador Kosh looks like under his encounter suit, and Ambassador Delenn is in a cocoon".

So the reports had been accurate after all. Sheridan had been sure that the whole cocoon thing had been a misspelling for coma and that Deleen had been involved in some accident like the security chief, or something like that. He'd even wondered if cocoon might be a metaphor for some sort of Mimbari period of isolation.

"A cocoon. As in a moth or a butterfly" the captain said.

"Yes sir, about yea high." Ivanova places her hand at about her eye level.

Sheridan could only nod, and try to act as if he understood any of that. Which of course he didn't.

"Interesting place you have here" he then said.

"Yes sir," Ivanova agreed.

That was when the Captain remembered something else.

"Before I left my ship I was contacted by the senate" he told Ivanova "Apparently you have a couple of humans here acting as ambassadors for an unknown alien race, and they're offering artificial gravity technology in exchange for our star charts. Well a few senators would like me to begin talks with them as soon as possible before they go to one of the other races".

Species that artificial gravity on their ships guarded the tech, they would never trade it maps so no one in Earthforce or the senate had taken the offer to seriously. Not until some of the other races had began showing interest.

"Do you think it will be possible to set up a meeting?" Sheridan then asked "And soon?".

The other officer didn't see this being a problem.

"The man, whose called Gothic, has been been fairly accommodating so far, and very patient for an ambassador, he's not yelled at anyone. I imagine you'll just have to ask him if you want to met" Ivanova said "As for the woman, I really couldn't say if she's also an ambassador or if she's the ambassador's bodyguard, or maybe his lover. Heck sometimes I think she's a crazy hitch hiker he picked up somewhere along the way".

Which really wasn't that far from the truth.

(Line Break)

 **Office. Babylon 5**

"Sorry we haven't been able to meet before, Mr Gothic" Sheridan said as I sat down at his desk.

Since this was supposed to be an informal meeting, the captain had decided to invite me to lunch, possibly as a time saving measure as well. Lunch involved lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, from this I got the impression that the captain has been living off ration packs for a while. Something I knew a lot about.

"I understand why we haven't gotten the chance to speak yet. It's always one thing after another here, and you've just started to get your bearings. It's no trouble" I replied "And its just Gothic, no Mr or any other title".

My rank was actually Blooded Warrior, but telling him that would just led to questions I didn't want to answer. Although if he had questions they'd be about the strange armour I wore and my collection of fangs, claws as well as a other body parts I decorated myself with.

"So, to business" the captain was soon saying "What do you want your long term relationship with Babylon Five to be? Ivanova told me you have technology to trade, and we'll get to that, but I'd like to know if the Yautja plan for you to be their permanent ambassador".

I had trouble answering that.

"The Yautja Clans don't do diplomacy" I explained "They are a very advanced species, and simply don't want the same things other races do. Also they have zero interest in get involved in the internal affairs of other races, but they do value information. I've been empowered to act on their behalf to trade for information, and maybe some exotic technology that peeks their curiosity. As such I am an ambassador, but I won't be attending any formal meetings and I can't make promises for the Yuatja Clans outside of a few one time trade deals".

And in those cases it wouldn't even be Yuatja resources I'd be trading. It was only re-purposed Colonial Marines tech. But there was quite a lot of it that was interest the Earth Alliance I was sure. Weyland-Yutani for all its evil did have some impressive tech, their terraforming technology was massive in scale, but the Earth Alliance should be able to make us of it. At least once Clark was out of office and things calmed down.

"Now if you scanned the arrowhead I gave you, you'll have noticed that its made from an advanced alloy, which should serve as proof that I serve an advanced race" I was now saying "If the Earth Alliance is interested in acquiring artificial gravity for your ships I expect detailed star charts as well planetary surveys. I also want a sum of credits, enough to get by with on the station until the trade is done, and of course to keep using the VIP quarters . I'm sure you'll have a more permanent arrangement sorted out before our next visit".

Sheridan had no problem with any of this. There were just a few minor points to get over, such as covering the docking fees as part of the deal, and giving Earth enough time to go over the data provided.

"Excellent," I was saying, once all that was done "For now I'll hand over the schematics for the device, and one the deal is done I'll give you a working example of the tech. Which you can transport to Earth"

The captain nodded, and this was when I got a call, which was transferred to this office.

"Something wrong?" Sheridan asked.

He was acting as if he hadn't been able to hear the whole thing.

"Sarah, my partner, got herself involved in something called the Mutai," I told time "Apparently its some form of martial arts match that humans know nothing about. Sarah is going to end up fighting in a match if I don't stop her".

"You're concerned she'll be hurt?" Sheridan asked in concern.

This was a woman who'd beaten Terminators time and time again. I wasn't worried about her well-being when dealing with mere flesh and blood aliens. I was however worried she'd start a war.

Sometimes I wished that I'd gotten the more serious and yet crazy Sarah Connor from the earlier movies to work with rather than the reckless and yet crazy Sarah Connor from Terminator Genisys. Still she was sort of worth the hassle. She was crazy in bed to.

"No, I'm concerned that she'll kill someone, please excuse me" I said before I left the office.

And the person she killed might be me at the rate things were going.

(Line Break)

 **Quarters. Babylon 5**

I'd successful managed to drag Sarah away from the alien boxing match, and I'd gotten her back to the room we were sharing when something struck me. It was random thought, and had nothing to do with what was going on here.

"You were never fully inducted into a clan were you" I said.

Until now I had failed to notice her lack of a clan mark, as she had other parts more worth looking at, and she didn't carry a wrist device either, or ever wear a mask. I had not thought about why this was. Sure she wore bits of armour, when it suited her, but it wasn't proper armour. She could get better stuff.

"No" Sarah replied "Like I told you before, my teacher dumped me off at the station, but I don't need some mark to prove how tough I am".

Indeed she didn't.

"Of course you don't" I said, not wanting to disagree with the scary lady "But if I take you as an apprentice you could get your own cool cloaking device, better weapons and a proper set of armour. Then later I can bring you into my clan".

Which wasn't how I'd done things with Jenkins, but those had been different circumstances.

"What would I need to do?" she wondered "To join your clan?".

I assumed this meant she was at least somewhat interested.

"Hunt and kill a nasty kind of alien that's far more dangerous than any that would have gotten into the ring with you" I said.

That made her smile.

"Sounds like fun" she commented.

Yep, she was super high on the hot/crazy scale. So hot that while she was flipping through the channels of what passed for TV here I started to remove her clothes simply because I couldn't resist taking her. As soon as I began she dropped the remote and focused on me.

She was eager and she practically tore off her mesh outfit, while helping me out my armour, which wasn't easy.

Sarah was about as hot as a woman could get. When she wanted to get fucked, she pretty much demanded it, and she'd made it clear I could fuck her as much as I wanted to. She had an intense sex drive.

Without warning Sarah threw her arms around my neck and dragged me to the bed. She fell on top of me and kissed me. I reached behind and loosened her bra, she was wearing one for a change, and then I pulled her panties down, or at least I attempt to.

She threw her bra aside and then pulled off her panties before tearing at my clothes. I helped her as fast as I could knowing that it was the only way to save them. In seconds we were both nude and she threw herself back on me.

My cock was standing erect and as hard as it ever was when I was about to put it into some woman. She rubbed her slit against my dick and I felt the wetness of her cunt coat my cock. As soon as my cock was wet enough for her liking I felt her lift up and move her body until the tip of my cock was pointing at the entrance to her pussy.

No foreplay tonight it seemed. She needed to be fucked, and with that in mind she thrust down and my hard rod speared up into her tight channel.

I fondled her tits. Then I took them into my mouth. Kissing, licking, sucking, and fondling her tits. This combined with her bouncing on my cock was driving her crazy, well crazier.

She had been sexually stimulated all day I guessed, she often seemed to be, and I figured that before long she'd come to a roaring climax as she rode my cock. I wondered sometimes if the transfusions of Yautja blood and chemicals that we'd gotten made us like this, or there was another reason we sometimes like animals in heat. But right now I could hardly focus on such matters.

Instead of trying to think I lightly bit her nipples to add even more sensation. She started to deliberately move up and down my cock with more force but less speed, as if she was savouring every movement of her hips. I grabbed both nipples and pinched and rolled them in my fingers.

After a few hard pinches she then changed her pace and rode my cock hard, using it to get herself off as quickly as possible. It was if I changed her settings using her nipples as controls. If only that was possible.

The next thing I could remember she leaned back as her mouth opened and a long moan broke forth. I felt her pussy walls spasm as she cried out.

"Cumming..."

As best I could I lunged up into her and felt my own orgasm as I also started to cum. I pushed deeply into Sarah as the first blast of cum gushed into her tight hot pussy.

Sarah froze in place, her hips stopped moving, and her head was thrown back as she felt my cum blast into her

"GOD, yes. Fill me up. Oh yes. I feel it. You're filling me up. Yes, yes, yes"

Her cunt tightly gripped my shaft. Damn but her pussy was tight. Then as if a spell broke, with my cock still inside her she fell onto my chest while moaning softly.

(Line Break)

 **Zócalo. Babylon 5  
**

"What is this place?" Sarah asked me as we walked around.

I explained to her that The Zócalo was Babylon 5's central marketplace. According to the guide book I'd picked up a information desk it was located in Red 05 and home to many open bars, kiosks, cart vendors and shops, the name came from the Mexican word that has come to mean "great marketplace" or "central plaza", though the literal meaning was closer to "base" or "plinth".

"Its a big shopping mall in space" I then told Connor.

This she better understood, and it wasn't such a bad way to describe the place. It had what I was sure were modern franchises, but not just from Earth, from other worlds too. Also the place had stores that I was sure were unique to this place.

On display I saw cheaply made collectables mere meters away from what looked to be genuine handmade alien artefacts from the far side of the galaxy, and there were even relics from Earth's past for sale.

While these things had my attention for a short time I had little desire to buy anything on display here. I was a Predator, a blooded warrior, I wasn't going to clutter up my ship with useless objects. All I had room for were vital supplies, my armour, weapons and of course, trophies. Well that and a women to fuck, that was also important.

Perhaps one day, if I ever acquired a proper living space, or my own mother ship I'd come back here for some odd and ends, but that was a far future concern. These days my interests right lay mostly in my stomach and parts a bit lower.

"Now that we have some credits I figured we spend some on a few decent meals" I added a moment later "And we can get you into some proper clothes".

Not that I minded the view, and so far she hadn't been arrested for walking around in what amounted to swim wear, mesh, and a leather jacket, but she was getting a lot of attention. I wanted to keep those parts of her body for my eyes only.

"Wait, you want me to wear more clothes?" she asked.

Sarah gave me an odd look, and I soon realised just how mad that sounded.

"Well we might go to places were you'll need to wear more in order to avoid being arrested" I said "And we might visit some cold weather places".

I wasn't going to insist as this was a woman who took on Terminators and kept winning. Besides she time travelled and had fought along side some rather nasty aliens, winning their respect in the process. I was wise enough not to upset her.

"Since we've go money I'm guessing that the government on Earth have figured out that the gravity thing works as advertised" Sarah commented as we began to look around.

More or less.

"I gave them the basic science behind the device" I told her "Right now a bunch of experts are debating how long they'll need to build their own version without a working example. Which anyone with half a mind will know is an estimate not be trusted, and then someone with authority will authorise the deal. But it could take a few weeks".

Sarah didn't like hearing that.

"Weeks" she said "I don't want to wait that long".

Perhaps she wouldn't have to.

"I can always force the issue" I proposed "I'll just threaten to take my tech and leave if they don't make the deal".

There had to be alien governments out there who wanted the tech and could actually get me what I wanted. I'd gone to humans first because I felt a certain sense of loyalty towards my own species.

"While we're here we should get some data crystals full of whatever information is publicly available" I said, mostly to myself "Might as well go back to Collector with something to show for our troubles".

Sarah, who'd been examining something that could be a candle, turned to look at me.

"There's never enough booze at Alex's place" she told me "We should stock up since we have credits".

It took me a moment to figure out who Alex was. He really wasn't much like his TV character self.

"Good idea" I agreed "Wonder if they do duty free?".

(Line Break)

 **Cockpit. Scout Ship.**

"Think we'll ever come back here?" Sarah asked as we left the station.

I saw no reason why we should, but then again there was no reason why we couldn't either. I didn't think they had any technology worth trading for and I had plenty of data crystals for the Collector to study. We'd even gotten the maps and planetary data the Yautja desired.

"Maybe" I replied, while making the scout ship cloak "For now we should focus on getting you some decent gear, and after that we'll be training for a while before going somewhere else for trophies and more stuff to trade".

There were plenty of universes out there with advanced and exotic tech we could trade for, or simply take as a trophy. I for one badly wanted to fill up my trophy case and to acquire some more weapons.

"I've been fighting for years" Sarah told me as I selected the Yautja station for our next destination "What can you teach me?".

A fair question.

"How to hunt" I explained "You're a fighter, a good one, but I can show you how to kill without ever being seen. Being able to hunt is useful if you ever end up alone on some planet. If nothing else you'll be able to catch yourself some dinner".

She considered this.

"Besides its not like you have anything better to do while I'm off gathering stuff for the Collector" I then added.

Sarah looked offended.

"I'm not being mean" I said "But I don't really need a partner for this business, and as good as you are in bed I'm sure you want more out of life than to ride my cock".

She didn't say anything, she seemed deep in thought, so I just let the auto pilot do its job and take us away.


	16. Chapter 16

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 16**

 **Training Planet. AVP Galaxy.**

This world was meant for the training of Hunters, and according to the database on my ship it was not owned by any one clan. Which was good since I wanted to train Sarah Conner as a Predator, but I hadn't gotten her formally added to my clan so I didn't want to take her to a world that was a hunting planet owned by my clan in case this caused issues of some sort.

So instead I'd brought her to a neutral world free for any clan to use. My guess was that the smaller clans didn't the influence required to claim entire worlds so they shared this one. And that was fine, it was very Earth like and therefore there was plenty of space for Sarah and I to set up a camp without bothering any Yautja who chose to come here while we trained.

What I found interesting about this world was that it coming towards the end of an ice age, or had it already had ended. The dominate life forms on this world, which I called snow apes, preferred things cold and as such were moving further south and north to get nearer the poles as the rest of the planet heated up.

Of course I had no intention of hunting any harmless ape people who greatest weapons were wooden clubs and bits of bone, the animal life here however was good hunting and good eating. The lower life forms had more rapidly adapted the changing climate and were thriving judging by the amount of small mammals, around and of course predators which ate those small mammals were a challenge to track and kill.

All in all it was a good place to teach Sarah the basics of hunting, such as tracking and trapping animals for food as well as the hunting of predators. If she was going to fit in with Yautja culture she needed more trophies to display on her person, fangs and claws were good for that.

At some point I'd have to take her to somewhere she could kill a xenomorph, but I was in no rush. I didn't want to fight more xenomorphs, and I might not need to since there was a good chance Sarah would leave me, or die, or just lost somewhere in the near future.

Mostly I was just killing time while the Collector, a high ranking Yautja science type decided how much the data I'd gathered from the Babylon 5 universe was worth. Hopefully I'd never have to go back to that universe. Not long ago I'd this weird dream involving Ambassador Kosh telling me I didn't belong in the circle, which might just be random craziness going on in my mind or maybe not.

Once I got back to the Yuatja station I'd go for some upgrades, until then I was going to spend some time refreshing my own skills when not teaching Sarah how to hunt.

Of course it would help if Sarah was actually around for these lessons. She had a habit of going off alone when it suited her. Clearly she wasn't the kind of woman who felt she needed a man around, and normally I'd respect that but she didn't know much about keeping herself alive while on alien planets. She more about killing evil cyborgs than hunting for food or sport.

Well at least her lack of interest at times meant that I could get some hunting done in peace. Currently I was following some tracks, rather large ones belonging to a hoofed animal.

Which was odd because there shouldn't be any large hoofed creatures here, at least according to the entry in the data banks. I'd have to update the entry once I found out more about the animal that had made these tracks. For now I'd just follow them and find out what kind of beast left tracks such as these.

Soon I found something even odder. Bootprints. They were big and heavy, too big and heavy to be human, but the wrong shape to be Yuatja. Could be an android of some kind, that would explain the weight and the humans of this universe did use robots, but I couldn't be sure. Still they were clearly bootprints not footprints so that meant some kind of person or something like a person, had come this way.

This changed the rules of the hunt. Until now I'd just been out refreshing old skills, and investigating this world. Now that I knew there was somewhere sort of person around I needed to be more careful.

With this in mind I turned on my camouflage. I could have gone back to my ship for better weapons, however this was just an intelligence gathering mission. I didn't intend to engage anyone in combat.

I followed both the bootprints and the hoof marks until I found a place that looked as if some sort of fight had taken place. The hoofed creature had been killed here, and then dragged off somewhere by the possibly humanoid creature. Given the hoof marks and the bits of fur stuck on some nearby branches I concluded that the boot wearer had killed and dragged off the large animal, which meant it must be very strong.

One of the snow-apes could have done this, but they didn't have boots, or any clothing for that matter, also this part of the planet was too warm for them.

I knew that the only way to find out for sure what was going on was to follow the trail. Which I did and it led to me a very strange sight.

At some point a group of humans I guessed had set up a small colony here, and they'd even imported life stock. My camp was pretty close by so they must have started setting this up before I'd arrived and somehow remained unnoticed by my scans. Which was possible as I hadn't done a detailed scan upon arriving, trusting in the data base. I would have to be more careful, and I wasn't sure how good my scanners were in any case. I'd have to ask the Collector about them.

However first I needed to deal with what was going on in front of me. By the looks of things a giant in some sort of armour had dismantled the colony and had slaughtered all the non-native animals. Everything that had been brought to this planet was stacked up into two big piles as if ready for a couple of massive bonfire. Everything organic, the bodies of the animals, and possibly humans too, was in one smaller pile while the parts of the buildings were in another.

The thing or person behind all of that was a large humanoid, who at first I did think was sort of robot despite how fluid its movements were. When I saw its helmeted face I knew that it was in fact an Engineer, one of the Space Jockeys.

Engineers were believed to have been beneficent Creators of sorts who sailed the stars terraforming primordial celestial bodies and seeding them with the foundations of biological life. As such, they are revered as gods by some of the species they created.

Knowing this made the Engineers actions make a lot more sense. This must be one of the planet's they'd long ago seeded with life, and clearly this Engineer was removing any human influence it could find from the planet. Perhaps it was concerned that humans settling on this planet would endanger the snow-apes. Or maybe it was just being a jerk, it was hard to tell with this species.

I also knew that the Engineers are 9-10 feet tall and breathe oxygen just like human beings. They also seem to be extremely strong and resilient. As such I didn't want to tangle with one. Not if I could help it, they were formidable foes even without their advanced technology, and this Engineer had on a biomechanical pressure suit, including the elephant helmet.

For a sort time I watched the alien life form go about its business, then suddenly it turned and looked at me. There was simply no way it should have been able to see me, yet it did seem to be able to. I became certain it had seen me when the alien started running right at me, covering the distance between us with ease.

I didn't feel fear, but I was smart to know that this was a fight I wasn't ready for. Still I had no choice. I had to do battle.

When the alien was close enough I fired off a net from my wrist mounted launcher, and this slowed it down, for about three seconds, the Engineer somehow ripped its way free of the net even as I moved to stab it with my spear. I threw the weapon and it simply bounced off the armour of the tall alien, and hit the ground.

Acting quickly, just not wisely, I went for my Wraith stunner and kept firing, each shot slowed the Engineer down, but it did not fall. I had vainly hoped that enough energy might somehow overload the amour it wore, alas this wasn't the case.

The Engineer was now close enough to strike, and it kicked me in the chest so hard that I may have broken a rib despite the armour I wore. I was driven to the ground and I expected a follow up attack only none came.

When I got back to my feet I found the that Engineer was taking off its mask. I'd never seen a member of this species before, not in real life and I was mildly startled by how human it was. Its skin was as white as milk, also it was very tall and hairless, but other than that there was not much difference between us, even the eyes seemed like that of a man, if a little cold. It was certainly much more like me in terms of looks than a Yautja.

I was unsure of why this alien had taken of his or her mask, and now it seemed to be waiting for something. It struck me that it might be waiting for me to show my face before doing anything else. Perhaps it would talk to me, or maybe it just wanted to see my expression as I died.

Not that it really mattered. I was facing someone, stronger than me, faster than me, and smarter than me. So I might as well look this person in eye and try to die with some fucking dignity. With that it mind I took off my mask face and made eye contact with the Engineer.

Doing so got me no reaction from the tall alien. It didn't seem to care who or what I was. The only thing it did was spread its arms wider, as it moved into something that could be called a fighting stance.

I extended my wrist blades and stood my ground, when the Engineer charged, so did I.

(Line Break)

 **Training Planet. AVP Galaxy.**

"Well either I won, or the after life is extremely disappointing" I commented as I got up and looked around "No flames and demons, that's something at least".

I seemed to have been lying on a cot inside a cave, and parts of my body were covered in bandages, so me being alive seemed like a safe bet. Dead people aren't known for needing medical care.

Looking around some more I didn't see much because of how dark it was, but I could hear people. Human people, they were speaking English, and as far as I was able to tell there were no guards so it seemed safe to assume that I wasn't being held captive. Most likely I'd been brought here for treatment by people who'd survived the attack on the colony.

"You won" said a familiar voice "Just barely".

Sarah Conner entered the room and dumped some clean clothing on the cot I'd just gotten up from. The outfit was green jump suit of some sort.

"Your armour is in no state to be worn, but I was able to get your weapons back" she informed me "You've been out for about a day and a half. You sure do heal fast".

No doubt a benefit of those transfusions. Whatever those Predators had pumped into my veins, back when they'd abducted me, it sure had improved upon the base product. Plus I was sure that the humans here had access to medical tech the doctors of my time could only dream of having.

"Were you worried?" I asked.

She should have been. I was her only way off this rock.

"Of course I was worried" she said.

I was sure she meant it, and that pleased me.

"How many people are there in these caves?" I then asked.

I could only hear a few voices. My hearing wasn't that great so I couldn't even make out what was being spoken about, however judging by the softness of the voices it was clear that the people here had been living in fear of discovery.

"Less than a dozen" Sarah told me as I dressed "Just the women and children. The entrances to this cave network on are a tight squeeze, and they have sentry guns so there were able to keep that tall alien out, but they've been stuck in here for days now. I found them by accident, and then I couldn't leave, or contact you".

Made sense, the Engineer would have been keeping an eye on these caves, waiting for the remaining humans to come out once their supplies of food and water began to run low.

As for Sarah being unable to contact me, we really should fix that. She needed her own wrist gauntlet computer, one that could connect to mine. Another thing I'd need to see the Collector about.

"Well unless there's more than one of those things out there then they should be okay now" I said to Sarah Conner "And if there are only a dozen people ere I can give everyone a lift to the nearest human held world".

It wouldn't be honourable to do otherwise, although a Yautja might not see things that way. Still I was human in spirit and blood, if not in culture, so I felt compelled to save these people.

"They're going to stay" Sarah told me "They sent out a distress call, and they think someone will answer it".

Well that was their choice, and I didn't care enough to argue with them. Humans could be the most stubborn creatures in existence so there was no point trying.

"Fine, but I do want them to do something for me" I said "I want the Engineers body. I figure it will be with a few upgrades, and we should get you your own wrist device so that can send messages to each other".

Sarah didn't seem to care about that.

"Just get me off this planet and away from these people" she requested "They've got nothing to drink here, and no decent food either".

Yeah that did sound really horrible.

"There's one more thing I kept for you" Sarah said.

She disappeared for a moment and then returned with the Engineer's helmet.

"It'll look so good in your trophy case" Sarah commented.

Indeed it would.

(Line Break)

 **Yautja Station. AVP Universe.**

I reloaded the 9mm pistol and fired off a few more rounds, each bullet striking the suit of armour set up before me, but doing no visible damage. The only sign that I'd even fired the gun, aside the sight ringing in my ears, were the bullet casings.

"Okay the metal parts I can understand being bullet proof" I said as I inspected the suit of armour "But the rest looks to be made of out something not metal, so it should be full of holes by now".

The Collector did her best to explain, however I failed to fully understand the technical terms she used. I got the impression that somehow the kinetic energy was spread out over each piece of the armour. In practical terms what this meant was that knives and bullets, at least those used by more primitive cultures, weren't going to have much luck making me bleed. However I would end up nasty bruises if I let myself get shot.

Also I was told that the armour would withstand one plasma discharge at best. So it would be best to avoid plasma, lasers, as well as other high tech weapons, if I wanted to keep on living. Which I did.

Harris further tested this out by firing a shotgun at the suit of armour, which knocked it to the ground, but didn't do any visible damage either.

"Get hit like that and you'll be sore for a good long while" the bar tender said "But you'll be alive".

::I customised the armour for your human form::

Yes I could see that, this suit had metal pauldrons and gauntlets leaving only the elbow and some skin exposed on the arms, which would still be partly protected by the wire mesh material beneath while not restraining movement and not weighing too much.

One pauldron was noticeably bigger than the other. No doubt to help carry the weight of a plasma caster, but I preferred the lighter and much less powerful plasma pistol. Still one day I might be forced to use the shoulder mounted version of the weapon.

The smaller pauldron was made from a different metal than the other metallic parts of the armour, a more silvery colour while the other metal bits were a dull grey. The non-metal parts were more of a dark red. I didn't know why this was, or if it mattered since the Yautja didn't see colours like humans did.

::Once I was done with it I melted down part of the Engineer's armour to make that pauldron. To remind you of that hunt::

This was when I spent a moment looking at a new display the Collector had set up. There was nothing left now of the Space Jockey other than a skeleton. I could see the damage around one of the eye sockets from when I'd plunged my wrist blade into brain via the eye.

Not that I remembered doing this. All I could recall was going crazy and hacking at everything I could with my wrist blades while taking blow after blow. The Engineer should have ripped me apart, it had ruined my armour. However I'd won, either because the gods had been with me, or I'd just been damn lucky.

Once I was done checking out the oddly human looking remains I went back to studying the armour and the kevlar like material, that could be called a hauberk, and was made from the hide of some beast for all I knew. Still it would protect my torso. As would my xenomorph tail and chain bandoleer.

The suit also included some good solid boots, as well as shin and knee guards, that could be worn over combat fatigues, which while not bullet proof were very sturdy. The belt by itself looked as if counted a piece of armour.

I would require some time to get used to extra weight around the legs before I'd be able to run about and climb stuff again. However I was sure I would adapt in time.

"New wrist computer" I commented "With the alterations I asked for".

::As requested::

The new wrist computer, of which Sarah would get a matching device, had a human style keyboard to make using the device easier, and we'd be able to send messages to each other.

Sarah didn't want her own set of armour, she had a unique dress sense that she didn't want to give up, but she'd agreed to use a wrist device from now on, and to carry a plasma pistol.

"And what this on the other gauntlet?. Its not a net launcher" I said next.

If it wasn't I'd have to go back to using the pistol version of the weapon as the nets were very useful.

::Grappling hook, will help with the climbing::

I hadn't even known they had those.

::Try on the mask::

I did so, after I spent a moment admiring the item, its material was partly reflective, and the mask had a blank expression, meaning that anyone who saw me face to face would get no hint of my feelings, they'd only see their own fearful expressions.

::It is voice controlled. Simply whisper the command::

"Active Camouflage" I said softly.

I turned invisible, or as an invisible as I could get get with this tech. Of course I could see myself and there would be a slight rippling effect meaning that someone with keen vision would be able to spot me. This was easier to do when I was moving, and it bright. In the darkness, if I kept still I would be more or less invisible to humans. Some creatures would see my heat, like the Yautja could, and beasts like xenomorphs had senses other than vision.

::You'll find the armour to be lighter in weight than it looks::

Hopefully this would be so.

"Its good " I said "Much better than my old set".

::The scanner upgrades will take a few hours, and I will have your communication systems upgraded as well. I will inform you when your ship is ready to depart::

With our business done there was no sense hanging around so Harris and quickly departed with him helping to carry my new armour out of the lab.


	17. SG1

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 17  
**

 **USCM Warship. AVP Universe.**

This wasn't the first time Sarah and I had visited this wreck which floated in the void far away from any habitable planets. The last time we'd been here she and I had salvaged from the rear section, the ship had been almost torn in two by weapon's fire, and we'd not been able to stay too long in the rear section due to radiation.

On this visit we'd come to the front part of the ship, which while not bathed in radiation that didn't make it more welcoming. Life support in this section was running on battery power, meaning that gravity, light, oxygen and warmth were somewhat lacking.

Thankfully Sarah and I both wore a layer of the wire meshing which helped regulate our body temperatures, and we more masks which meant we could see, and while the air here was stale, we were able to breathe it.

As for the gravity, well there wasn't anything we could do about that, and nor did we wish to since the level of gravity was high enough to prevent things from floating around while being low enough that lugging heavy bits of equipment around became much easier than it would be on say Earth.

"What's that thing?" Sarah asked me.

I showed her the device which I was about to use.

"A Comtech hacking device" I answered "The other ships I've looted didn't lock their doors, but they did on this ship".

The hacking device was used by Colonial Marines to gain access to secured places whenever discretion was required, such as investigations into illegal activities, or when they were lacking in the kind of explosives necessary to breach heavy doors. In order to override a door lock's security systems, I had to first pry open the console pad so that I could access the console's internal mechanisms. I then used the hacking device to override the lock.

To my ever lasting joy we found an armoury behind the secured door I'd just hacked open, and it as a bonus it was very close to where we'd docked with the massive marine vessel so we'd have an easier time lugging the stuff back to my ship, and unlike the other armouries I'd raided, this one was stocked with the very latest in Colonial Marine weapons.

An example of this was the XM99A Phased Plasma Pulse Rifle which was according to the manual was a prototype rifle that fired super-heated blasts of plasma; highly effective at long range. To fire the weapon, the trigger had to be held down for a couple of seconds, so my guess was that this gun was meant for taking down slow moving armoured target or stuff that stationary but tough. Say like the door to a bunker.

"Mama like" Conner said as she lifted a M-90 Minigun off the rack "What does this baby fire?".

I checked the manual.

"900 rounds of armour piercing bullets and its fully automatic" I told her "making it effective against small, fast-moving, hard-to-hit targets as well as durable, armoured targets that smaller weapons may be ineffective against. Just the kind of thing you'd want to take into a xenomorph hive".

And one day we might just do that. Only the most elite hunters got to command Mother Ships and you only got a rank like that by clearing out entire xenomorph hives.

"I think this is some kind of compact mortar" I said while examining a weapon "Not something we'd use while hunting, but might be worth a lot in trade".

With that in mind I placed in the duffel bag I was carrying.

"We'll end up keeping most of the weapons for ourselves I'm sure" I told Sarah "And you should totally take a M4 Pulse rifle. I've seen marines using those effectively against xenomorphs and Yautja".

Considering the kind of people I was in contact with you'd think the weapons I salvaged would sell like hotcakes, however that wasn't the case. Perhaps I simply hadn't found the right market yet.

"Don't forget that sometimes its the simple things that are worth the most" I was now saying.

"Like what" Connor enquired.

I took a combat knife out of its sheath and showed it to her.

"A good blade..."

I stopped talking when I realised that my motion detector had gone off. I checked the device and discovered that something was heading right for us.

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

I did not know.

"It could be anything" I told her "One of the bad bloods who attacked this ship. A survivor. An annoying salesmen".

That last one seemed unlikely, but I loaded up a M39 Submachine Gun just in case.

"Ten meters and closing" I warned "Seven, five, its right outside the door".

I prepared myself to face whatever fearsome foe it was. I truly had no what horror it could be that was now less than a meter away. Fearsome death might be seconds into our futures.

"Meow" went the cat.

"Well that was dramatic" I commented.

Sarah went over and picked up the cat.

"Oh he's so cute" she said "I'm keeping him. No arguments".

I didn't dare argue. I was so pussy whipped.

"Meow" went the cat.

(Line Break)

 **Trading World. Stargate Verse.**

At this point I desperately wished that I was wearing my fancy new Predator armour instead of the United States Colonial Marines armour, which I'd modified for my own personal use by removing any mention of the USCM with a spray can of paint.

This wasn't because I was expecting a fight, in fact we had been made nothing but welcome by the people of this world, it was because of the _stink_ of the place. The people here _reeked_ , and no matter how friendly they were, I couldn't bring myself to shake anybody's hands. If I'd been able to wear my mask I could have at least filtered out the smell.

They we were currently in large open air market/shanty town which surrounded the Stargate, the large grey ring was standing tall above everything, and while it wasn't an object of worship it clearly had an importance to the locals that went beyond its use as a transportation device.

The poverty around me seemed odd given the sheer amount of wealth on display. My guess was the humans and Jaffa here were selling off the property of their former masters because all the technology, gold and jewels were worth less to them than food, tools and clothing.

Which made me wonder what the hell the SGC had been thinking when they tried to replace the System Lords with the Free Jaffa nation. What did the Jaffa know about running an interstellar civilization? or any civilization? They'd been the private armies of system lords for thousands of years, they didn't know how to fish or farm, the enslaved humans had done all the work, but the humans had been kept ignorant for so long that they actually thought the weapons I was trying to sell them were magical.

No wonder so many people had sided with the Ori when those fanatics had turned up. All those freaky priests of theirs would have needed to do would be to make some crops grow and they'd have had people worshipping anyone or anything they'd wanted.

Another oddity I noticed was that I had yet to see a single person, other than the children, who wasn't carrying some form of weaponry, with the most common being staff weapons and those zat'nik'tel pistols.

I'd gotten one of each already, the staff weapon was for the collector while I'd replaced my Wraith stunner with a zat since the Wraith stunner hadn't so far proven to be of much use. Not that I'd gotten rid of the exotic weapon I was simply planning to leave it my own personal armoury.

Strangely, at least in my view, I'd even see the occasional Earth manufactured projectile weapon carried by the Jaffa as well as cruder guns in the hands of some of the better dressed humans. They must come from slightly more advanced words than the other humans. Some of the more primitive humans carried swords, spears and crossbows.

I had no interest in buying any of those weapons as while the Weyland-Yutani Corporation might be corrupt they did make very good weapons, ones that were very much superior to stuff Earth had been sharing.

Alas the weapons Sarah and I were trying to trade were so advanced as to be useless to the people here as they could not produce the ammo the guns needed.

As such I was glad that Connor and I had stocked up on stuff like combat knives, body armour and even trench digging tools, as the local merchants really wanted that kind of stuff.

Already I was starting to lose interest in this planet, and was considering asking if anyone could put me in contact with a more advanced society. While thinking about this I scanned the market place again, looking for any possible threats, or people selling goauld tech, and froze when I saw something I'd been hoping to avoid.

Upon seeing SG1 my first thought was to grab Sarah, who was currently looking at some jewellery, and start running like hell. However I quickly realised that this would be bad since there was a good chance SG1 would chase us and then see my ship.

Which I didn't want to happen as the whole reason why I'd dressed us up in Colonial Marine gear was that they wouldn't peg me as the guy who'd visited Atlantis some time back. I didn't want Earth and its allies to know how advanced the tech the Predators had given me actually was, if they did find out they'd try to take it from me, or someone end up getting my ship blown up, and I might want to visit this galaxy again. As such it was best to keep my full capabilities unknown. _  
_

We could of course just head to another world, however as of yet I was lacking in star maps or gate addresses, so I didn't want to flee this world unless I really had to.

Before I could make up my mind SG1 had spotted Sarah and I, which wouldn't have been hard given how much clearer looking we were than the natives, and of course our high tech looking weapons made us stand out. We might as well have a big neon sign above us saying 'we're from an advanced culture'.

"Hello. I'm Doctor Daniel Jackson" the bespectacled man said before indicating each member of his team in turn "this is Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Teal'c, and Vala Mal Doran".

He then spoke again in what I assumed was Goa'uld. As he did that I checked out the team. Teal'c was even bigger and taller than on the TV and as such he made everyone else seem smaller. Other than that they looked like their TV counterparts, which didn't surprise me since I'd already met Colonel Carter back when I'd visited Atlantis.

"We're peaceful explorers from the planet Earth" Jackson said, continuing his introduction.

I shrugged, trying to act as if I didn't care.

"The whole galaxy has to know about Earth and the infamous SG1" I said "You guys did cause the collapse of the System Lords leaving countless worlds in disarray, and then you alerted the Ori to the presence of humans in this part of the universe"

Jackson winced because he knew that a lot of the galaxy's problems were in fact his fault, well mostly. When I was younger I'd admired SG1, but now that was older and more cynical I realised that they'd not really done as much good as they'd like to think.

"We've never encountered your people before" Jackson was soon saying, in an attempt to open a line of dialogue "You're clearly more advanced that most of the humans we've met".

Only because I'd been adopted by a more advanced civilization.

"I work for an alien race that is even more advanced than the Goa'uld" I told Jackson "But they don't have any interest in the affairs of other races, and frankly neither do I".

The Predators were a hard race to understand, but I was sure that outside of their hunting trips they really didn't care what other races got up to as long as you didn't bother them.

"And yet you've heard of _us"_ Mitchell stated.

Sarah hadn't but she clearly didn't care either, she was too busy trying to buy shiny stuff. Like the female member of SG1 she seemed content to let the men do the talking while they shopped, that might seem somewhat sexist, but I suspected that Sarah at least was faking her disinterest. Teal'c just stared at me, possibly in an attempt to unsettle me, however I'd faced down way scarier things than Jaffa so he didn't unnerve me. Well not much.

"Your people have gained quite a reputation in the short time you've been among the stars" I said.

Mitchell gave me a smug smile.

"I didn't say it was a good reputation" I told him.

His smile deflated somewhat.

"Since your from an advanced civilisation" Jackson said "I'm curious how you managed to avoid the attention of the Goa'uld".

Again I shrugged.

"Well it helps not to use the Stargate" was all I had to say on that matter.

And to be in a totally different universe.

"If you haven't got a gate, how did you get here?" Mitchell wondered.

"I have a ship" I told him.

Thankfully he didn't ask about the ship because I wouldn't have been able to answer any questions about it. At least not willingly.

"So what brings you out here anyway?" Mitchell enquired.

As if that wasn't obvious.

"Trade mostly, we're after examples of different Goa'uld technology" I said simply.

Jackson's eyes lit up upon hearing that.

"If you're interested in exchanging technology, you should know that Earth will always be ready to establish diplomatic ties with your world and that can led to extensive trade" he informed.

That made me laugh.

"My employers don't have diplomatic ties with other races" I told Jackson "And while Goa'uld technology is of minor interest to them its clear from your weapons and equipment that you're barely any less primitive than the other humans here".

Jackson was about to say something when someone spoke through Mitchell's radio.

"Colonel!" said a worried sounding voice "Two large ships just arrived in orbit and they are launching fighters".

Somehow this _had_ to be their fault, I wasn't sure how, but it simply had to be. After all they were SG1.

"So what's the problem?" I asked "Earth ships can take on Ori vessels, you should be able to deal with whoever is attacking this world".

The members of SG1 exchanged looks.

"We don't have a ship here" confessed Jackson "Our Free Jaffa allies alerted us to your presence here, they must have contacted the team we have by the gate".

As deathgliders began flying over the sky above the trade outpost, I cursed SG1, when the weapons of the deathgliders began firing on people I cursed SG1 again. I didn't know who was flying those ship or why they were attacking, but I knew exactly who was to blame for this.

"This is your fault" I told the team.

"How? We just got here!" Cameron Mitchell retorted

"I don't know, but you're _SG1_ it's always you're fault" I argued.

"He's got a point" the the archaeologist agreed.

"Shut up Daniel"

I sighed and reminded myself that this was why you should never met your heroes. Then I too Sarah by the arm and made a run for my ship.

(Line Break)

 **Bar. Yautja Station.**

I was having a mixed few days. On the one hand things had been looking up for me ever since I'd killed that Engineer. I'd not exactly risen up the ranks, but I had gotten an apartment here on the station. Well in humans terms in an apartment barely, it was more of a storage area for the weapons, armour and trophies that I didn't want to keep on my ship as well as somewhere to sleep while my ship was being upgraded.

Well I'd hardly call it a home. Homes were welcoming and tended to be personalised. My living space here on the station wasn't welcoming at all. Part of why that was had to with Sarah up and leaving in her own ship with barely a good bye. Apparently she'd been saving her share our profits from the salvaging and trading to get a vessel of her own from the Collector, who must have liked the idea of having more than one agent out their gathering tech for her.

"So she just took off" Harris summarised.

I nodded and swallowed whatever the blue stuff was that the barkeep had served me.

"Well that's the problem with strong, independent women" Harris went on to say "They don't need us men".

In my experience this was true. Right up until one of those strong women find a spider in the bath tub then suddenly more than a century of women's rights go out the window and apparently they need to be protected by the men folk yet again.

"Don't worry about it" Harris said next "You're a twenty... what century is it here?".

I had to think about that.

"23rd I think" I answered.

Dates on the calendar became meaningless when you lived the kind of life style that I did.

"23rd century man" he carried on by saying "You don't need no woman".

I wasn't so sure. I travelled a lot, so it was nice to have a girl with me. Long trips became far less boring when there were boobs to play with.

"Hey I have something that will cheer ypi up" the one eyed demon hunter told me.

Using his wrist device he displayed a hologram, which showed a desert world. He zoomed out to then show that it was binary star system. He zoomed out again to show a galaxy that wasn't the Milky Way.

"One of the scouts came in with info on a planet he scouted out" Xander told me "It took him over a month to get there, and no clan has made a claim. Thing is this desert planet has wrecked ships scattered on the surface that sound a lot like Star Destroyers, and creatures, small robed guys who gather scrap metal and parts".

This got my interest.

"So a galaxy that is far, far away, a binary star system, a desert planet, and what might be Jawas" I said "Are you thinking what I'm thinking".

I was.

"Tatooine!" we both yelled.

If the noise my inner geek was now making right now had been audible it would have made for a decent sonic weapon.


	18. Jakku

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 18**

 **Scout Ship. Yautja Station.**

Right now I was packing for a very, very long trip. One that would take over a month even with my ship's fast engines. Perhaps the fastest of Predator vessels could have made the trip in mere days or just a few hours, but even my scout craft wasn't that swift.

Normally it wouldn't be advisable for a single person to spend so many weeks alone in a confined space, that would most likely drive me totally crazy, and there was a good chance of running out of supplies while far away from any sort of aid. This was because a multi-verse jump always took me an alternate Milky Way, and while going to the Pegasus galaxy had taken mere days, the Star Wars galaxy was much further away than that dwarf galaxy.

Fuel I had plenty of and the ship flew itself so ending up adrift in the void between galaxies didn't worry me. Going crazy or starving to death was not a concern either as I would be making use of a form of stasis technology called hypersleep. Which involved sleeping for long periods of time within a special pod.

A very cool thing about this tech was that while in hypersleep I would age at about one tenth of my normal rate, so while a month would pass for me during the sleep I'd only age a few days. And the same would be true while on the return journey.

There were three of these hypersleep pods on board, which made sense as Yautja hunters either worked alone or in groups of three. Although larger groups could be brought along as it would be a simple matter to install a few more pods.

I was alone, and while I was fine with that, it also seemed a shame that I would have no one to share this journey with, it would after be an interesting experience. Alas Sarah was gone, and she'd even taken the cat.

As sad as that was, and it wasn't that depressing really once I'd taken some time to wallow in self pity, in fact it didn't change anything. I was still a Blooded Warrior of the Shadow Blades, and I had mission. And that was to gain glory for myself and my clan, either by hunting for trophies or by bringing in new technology and information.

With that in mind I put the last of my supplies in order and a headed for the cockpit, it was going to be long trip and so I'd best get going.

(Line Break)

 **Wrecked Star Destroyer. Jakku.**

After making sure that her grapple cable was secure, the young woman, who was dressed in loose fitting grey desert garbs, ripped away the panel that was all that was between and her prize. Carefully she reached in, and began shifting aside decayed or dust covered wiring in order to find some more intact parts.

After ripping out the part she desired, the young scavenger added it to her bag, which contained components that she hoped would increase overall the sales value of her salvage if sold together.

She'd spent much of her time within massive shipwrecks like this one, which were scattered over much of this hemisphere of the planet. Many years ago a great battle had taken place between the New Republic, and the Empire, a battle which had left many wrecks behind.

This Imperial class Star destroyer from which she salvaged parts from was one of many massive wrecks yet to be picked clean despite years of work. Which was a testament to the sheer size of the vessel, as well as a reminder of the technology and industry the Galactic Empire had controlled while at its height.

Now that she had what she wanted, Rey kicked off and began lowering herself to the ground. She'd gathered enough for now, and if she wanted to trade these parts in before the end of the day she still needed to clean them. If she didn't she would not eat today.

Once she was outside Rey took her mask off, and let herself have a good drink of water from her canteen, she'd earned it with all her hard work. Then Rey spent a moment looking over the graveyard of ships. Much of the wreckage in these parts came from a single star destroyer, other piles of scrap came from wrecked fighters that were also scattered about, but te smaller craft, they'd long since been picked clean.

The sled she used to carry what components of worth she found from these piles of junk was quickly loaded, and as she got the sled moving she leapt aboard to slide in a fast, but controlled manner down the massive sand dune. A bit of fun in day otherwise filled with the gruelling work required to survive here on this planet.

Once down at the bottom of the large dune, she pulled the sled along to her waiting speeder bike, which was little more than a bulky frame that resembled a rounded box of sorts with a seat mounted atop a small engine. It had been built from scratch from salvaged components, and while it had reasonable speed, it was meant for hauling heavy cargo, as such it lacked any comfort or style.

Before gunning the twin engines Rey made sure her goggles were on, and before long she took off, and she was rapidly flying over the countless sand dunes, which were pretty much the only thing to see on this planet other than the wrecks.

While the camps moved around in order to more easily service the needs of those who worked on these salvage operations they never seemed to change. Once she'd arrived at her destination Rey idly glanced around the outpost, seeing nothing new as usual, then she got to work. She had parts to clean.

(Line Break)

 **Cockpit. Scout Ship.**

From up here everything looked good. I'd arrived at a desert planet as planned and according to the scans it had been worth coming here. Not only were their life signs clustered together, but also the remains of several Star Destroyers were scattered across the surface of this world.

This meant their should be plenty for me to salvage and given the tech level of Star Wars it should all be of value to the Collector and who ever else I could sell the junk too. It was just a matter of deciding what to take.

Also I was hoping to get some hunting done while I was down on that planet. There were those sand people here, they were known for attacking people, and torturing them, so I could hunt them without breaking any rules. They should be a challenge since I'd never hunted in a desert environment before.

Even better I recalled there was a type of dragon that lived on Tatooine. I would love to hunt such a creature, although I would have to be careful about how I went about doing that.

With my new and approved scanners, a reward for all my hard work, I quickly located what looked like a landing site. There were other ships there, and many life signs. That seemed like a good place to start.

(Line Break)

 **Niima Outpost.** ** **Jakku.****

Beneath the tarp cover which offered some protection from the sun, scavengers cleaned off their finds before they tried to market them off for rations, or potentially even greater profits. Many of the scavengers hoped for a big windfall, but they never seemed to find anything of real value.

While cleaning off sand and crud from one of the components in her pile, Rey briefly stopped as she saw the delicacy an older woman demonstrated with her own component cleaning. The elder human seemed to almost be smiling, and upon seeing this site Rey wondered what it must be like, actually being content here.

She hadn't lived here her whole life, but she couldn't quite recall clearly living anywhere else. She had been dropped off here long ago, at a young age, and all she recalled of her parent, or parents, was of them leaving aboard a starship. She told herself that one day they'd come back for her, but it had been such a long time now that some days she doubted it.

"What do you mean this isn't Tatooine?" she heard someone ask.

Rey turned to see an armoured man who was talking to one of the scavengers. At first she mistakenly thought the figure was one of the traders who came by to purchase spare parts, but he didn't look much like a merchant.

Given the weapons he carried and the armour he wore, he might a solider, but Rey didn't think he was. She decided that the man in the mask must be a bounty hunter of some kind, and she wasn't that far off the mark.

However while it was interesting to see someone new here it was starting to get dark and Rey still needed to trade in her parts if she hoped to eat tonight.

(Line Break)

 **Wrecked Star Destroyer. Jakku.**

"Okay if I were a tractor beam emitter where would I be?" I asked "Also what would I look like?".

This salvage mission would be so much easier if I had some sort of blueprints or even a floor plan. It would also help if most of the ship hadn't already been gutted because then some corridor might have a sign saying 'tractor beam emitter this way'. Although upon thinking that I imagined again that the tractor beam emitter may already been salvaged, after all it sounded like something expensive. Also I had to consider the size and weight of the device, it might be too large to fit inside my ship or too heavy to transport onto my vessel.

If so then I would be most disappointed as I was pretty sure that the Yautja didn't have tractor beam technology, and that it would make for a way better prize than anything Sarah would bring in. Not that I was going to be all petty about her now being the competition.

Another reason I hoped to find such technology was because this planet was not where I'd intended to go. Oh it was a desert planet, but according to the limited information I'd been able to gather I was in the wrong part of the galaxy. So either the scout had messed up, or something had gone wrong with my ship.

My trail of thought came to an end when something pinged on my motion tracker. I wasn't as worried as the last time this had happened because the only thing I'd come face to face then was a cat. But I did switch though a few different kinds of vision in case it was something worth my concern.

Doing this gave me some warning, just enough to avoid getting hit by a robed figure whose only weapon was a big stick.

"Aren't you a little short to be a Tuskan Raider?" I asked.

To be fair the person was covered head to foot in robes as for their face, it was covered as well with goggles and some sort of breather mask. I was pretty sure that this person was a female, but they were armed, and clearly they were challenging me.

As an honourable warrior I couldn't let this challenge go unanswered, but nor I could I simply shoot this person. With this in mind I took my combi-stick which I extended before waiting for this scavenger person to attack again. And that she soon did.

Moments later I was on my back and I had the end of a staff poking me in the chest, and while this was humiliating, it was also totally impossible.

There was no way that some slip of a girl, one who had to be a fraction of my weight, and couldn't have decent combat training, had been able to knock me down so easily. Yet she had put me on the ground.

"How the hell did you do that?" I asked.

The person, who turned out to be a human woman, showed her face, and then I understood how she'd done the impossible.

"Oh no its the Mary Stu" I moaned.

I'd seen the new Star Wars movies, however I'd totally forgotten that the stupid Mary Stu character lived on this planet. Maybe I'd been denial about the whole thing.

"My name is Rey" she corrected "And this is my salvage".

Great so here I was a warrior who faced Yautja, Xenomorphs, a Wraith, an Engineers, and a whole load of predatory animals, and now I'd been beaten up by a girl over junk metal. I'd never live this down if anyone found out about it. Still while this was totally implausible there was protocol I had to follow. Besides I did have a mission here so I quickly came up with a way that would allow me to get on with that.

"Listen Mary Stu" I said "I'm looking for a tractor beam emitter, or the parts to one, or even just a technical readout. So how about you help me with that and I'll pay you for your time. You basically work for food and I have plenty of that".

To me that sounded rather reasonable.

"My name is Rey" the young woman insisted.

No she was wrong about that, but I didn't argue the point as I was too busy getting up off my feet, and then I had to recover my mask, which hopefully wasn't damaged.

"Here taken this" I instructed the scavenger as I passed her a combat blade and sheath "Its a good, sharp knife, it will serve you well".

The Yautja had a custom that involved handing over a weapon to someone who kicked your ass, but spared your life, as a token of respect, and I was doing my best to remain honourable. She took the knife without comment, in fact she seemed confused, but that was fine, she didn't need to know why I was giving her the weapon, she just needed to take it.

"So about the tractor emitter?" I asked.

(Line Break)

 **Scout Ship. Jakku.**

"Don't touch anything I warned" as I escorted the Mary Stu on to my vessel "The ship will explode if anyone other than me tries to fly it".

Although I could simply cancel the self destruct if I wished so I wasn't too concerned about her pressing any buttons. In fact if the movies I saw her in were anything to go by she'd probably be able to fly the ship better than I could without even trying. Stupid Mary Stu characters.

"Follow me" I instructed.

Unlike other Yautja made scout craft my vessel was brightly lit and the walls were a plain white colour. But in other way it was very Yautja in design, there was no clutter, everything was neatly stored away and secured in compartments that were hidden behind walls.

This feature not only kept things neat, but it also meant stuff would end up floating around if I lost gravity. As a bonus the walls kept any visitors from seeing my trophies, which good because some people might have awkward questions about them, and they might have some worries about all the weapons I carried.

"Follow me" I instructed.

I took Mary Stu to the storage room, and soon I located a box of rations. The people here basically worked for food, and I had an ample supply of rations as my Yautja masters always made sure I had more than enough to eat. I filled a box with rations, canisters of waters, and a few odds and ends that I'd picked up from salvage operations.

"Will this be enough?" I asked.

Mary Stu didn't reply right away, she just examined the contents of the box. I couldn't tell if she was happy or not.

"Its fine" she said after a while "Now we'll need to take you ship further into the desert so we can find a ship with an intact tractor beam emitter".

Okay time to get down to business.

(Line Break)

 **Bar. Yautja Station.**

"So I paid for her freedom, as it turned out that her parents sold her for a few spare parts, and rather than be grateful she tried to beat you up" Harris summarised before offering his own opinion on the subject "That's crazy".

It was nice to know that even when you were centuries in the future, in an alternate dimension, and light years from Earth, that you could still find a sympathetic barkeep willing to listen to you bitch about stuff that didn't really matter in grand scheme of things.

"Yep" I said "She was really upset. It was almost as if she didn't know she was a slave, she was crying and she kept hitting with her staff".

Which was just silly. How could you not know that some alien owned you? It had taken me about thirty seconds to ask and to sort out a price so that Mary Stu girl could go free.

"You try to do something nice for people" I said with a sigh.

I really ought to stop being nice to people.

"Get any good tech at least?" Harris asked.

I shook my head.

"Nothing worth writing home about" I told him "Just a busted up tractor beam emitter".

I had considered asking for upgrades to the fuel tanks on my ship so that I could make more long distance trips to that galaxy, but since I wasn't very familiar with that time period of Star Wars I'd decided against it. There were plenty of alternate Milky Ways to explore, and I was sure that I would run into more likeable 'fictional' characters in the future.

"Think I'll find somewhere to do some hunting" I told Harris.

He nodded upon hearing that.

"Don't be gone too long" he then said "Its mating season in a few weeks, it reflects badly on your clan if your not there".

Had it been a whole year already? Didn't seem like so long ago that I'd first stepped foot on this station, and I had to wonder what I had to show in terms of trophies for an entire year.

Sure I now had my own ship, and some cool stuff, but I didn't have much to display in the trophy case. Although I did have an Engineer's helmet, that was cool. However it might not matter, it depended on if any female that took on an interest even bothered to check out trophies. Project Alice hadn't.

"Well I best get going then" I said while finishing my drink "I'm off to kill some stuff. Wish me luck".

Which he did.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author Note**

This chapter wasn't as good as what I wanted to write, but I wrote it a few times and couldn't get it right. Still its over six thousand words and I got the chance to introduce some original characters.

 **Predator Gothic**

 **Part 19.**

 **Game Preserve. AVP Verse.**

I wasn't really very good at waking up in a rush. I much preferred to take my time, to enjoy my bed for as long as possible. The only reason I didn't spend more time sleeping was because I had so much to do, and normally there was someone around to help rouse me from my slumber.

As it turned out I'd now found something that was really effective at waking me up. Far more than an annoying morning person, or even a whole pot of coffee could ever hope to be. And that was finding myself being fired out of a ship via an orbital insertion pod.

While I no longer felt things like fear and terror, and I didn't panic, I could still feel things such as concern and worry. Those emotions filled me even as I felt the pod jolt as rockets fired to slow my descent.

Oddly it wasn't dying upon impacting the ground that had me worried. What concerned me was why I'd been fired out of a ship. The last thing I remembered was walking to Harris's bar on the Yautja station. It was the start of another mating season as I'd been looking forward to meeting someone new and interesting.

That trail of thought, such as it was, came to a sudden end when the pod finally struck the ground. Since I didn't strike the surface of where ever I was and end up being scattered across the landscape, I knew now that I had to get out of the pod and find out what the hell was going on.

When the pod opened, and I jumped out. And I soon found myself in a wooden area, that seemed peaceful enough, but the lack of anything such as bird song, or even a breeze put me on edge.

At once I went to trigger my personal cloak. Only I couldn't do that because my wrist device was gone, as was my mask, which I hadn't noticed until now. To make matters even worse my plasma pistol was gone too.

This didn't mean that I was unarmed. I had bow and a quiver of arrows slung over my back, my sword at my side, a Colonial Marines pistol on my hip, as well as a combi-stick, and a ceremonial dagger on my person. I even had my wrist gauntlet, along with the grappling hook attachment, but all the really advanced tech was gone.

Thankfully I was wearing my armour, and this combined with my many weapons, and the fact that I was adorned with some of my smaller trophies, teeth, horns and fangs taken from predatory animals, meant that it was unlikely that I'd been kicked of my clan. Plus I could still feel the mark on my face.

This left me wondering if this was some sort of test, like when I'd been sent on my xenomorph hunt with the young warriors I'd named Bulk and Skull, but I should have been given some time to prepare or at least my former mentor should have given me some instruction.

Well whatever was going on here I wasn't going to find any answers while simply standing around here. I should at least go and look around to see if anyone else had been sent down with me.

(Line Break)

 **Game Preserve. AVP Verse.**

I hadn't been totally sure what was happening until now as there could have been other explanations as to why I'd been dropped off here using an insertion pod. The Yautja were an odd race, to say the least, and it wasn't always possible to understand their motivations or to even guess what they were.

The body we were looking at, I'd made contact with others, made it clear to me that this was in fact what I'd feared the most. We were being hunted on a Predator Game Preserve.

As for the 'we' I was referring to myself, that was Xander Harris, Sarah Connor, Project Alice, a Krogan bounty hunter called Varr, a Pureblood Sith and his two women, a Twi'lek and a human, a Narn who didn't speak, and some sort of odd looking hairless Klingon. I knew he was a Klingon because he had one of those stupid swords that race favoured.

Currently we were looking over the body of an ODST trooper. The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) were a special operations capable organization of the UNSC Marine Corps that specialized in orbital-dropped shock infantry and special warfare tactics. The ODSTs were one of the primary Special Operations units of the United Nations Space Command.

"His head is still intact so I guess they took his helmet as a trophy" I said "Its what I'd take".

One human skull was much like the other so in my mind there was no sense collecting them, helmets however made great trophies. They were less gory that skulls, and didn't take up much more room.

"Can't see any clan marking" the Pureblood Sith said. "Too much decay".

No one spoke for a while. We were all busy processing what this all meant. We'd all been at the station for the start of mating season, and then we'd woken up inside insertion pods, which had been fired at this.. well I had no idea if it was a moon, or a planet, for all I knew we could even be within some sort of artificial environment inside an asteroid and the sky above us was just an illusion.

"We were betrayed" said the Narn.

I was surprised to hear him speak. I'd tried talking to him when we'd first met, but he'd not spoken.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Alice wondered.

I had a fair idea.

"Well its possible that our clans have betrayed us" I told her "We might have outlived our usefulness so they dumped is here to be hunted".

If this was so I was saddened, but not that surprised.

"So you think they sold us to another clan to be hunted in their game preserve?" she wondered "Why, they normally seem kind of honourable. I mean in their own way".

I shrugged.

"Could be politics" I mused "A change in how they do things. Or maybe we were given to a clan to hunt in exchange for support in their civil war. That or one of the clans has a teleporter and they abducted us without anyone knowing".

I wouldn't rule the teleporter out as I had been claiming tech for the Collector, and other Clans could have other agents doing the same.

"That would explain why they look our masks, wrist devices and plasma casters, but nothing else" said the Sith, whose name I really should learn if we survived the next few days "the Yautja can track their own technology very well".

This could be the case. We may have been taken by a clan that didn't like the fact that non-Yautja were being recruited. By removing the advanced tech it meant our clans had nothing to track. Assuming hey even cared to recovered the non-Yautja they had recruited into their clans.

On the matter of recruitment I wondered where the Yautja had found a pureblood Sith because I was pretty sure they were an extended universe race and not part of the Star Wars verse I'd visited. However there were many versions of the Milky Way galaxy so why couldn't there be alternate Star Wars galaxies too. This was something I could think more on later. Assuming there was a later.

"Or they could have taken it to make us harder to track" the pureblood then reasoned "Hunting us will be more of a challenge if they can't track our tech".

This could also be the case.

"I found these" the Krogan bounty hunter reported.

In the alien's hand was a set of strings.

"What are they?" I heard Alice ask.

It a testament to how to how messed up this all was that the fact that the presence of two women I'd slept with being close together didn't even phase me. Normally guys worried about such thing. I had more urgent concerns.

"This solider had grenades attached to trip wire, looks like there were some other traps too, but they've been disabled" the Krogan said "I also found his weapon, its a little dainty for me".

It look like a SMG with a suppressor. Alice took it, and this was good, as she was only carrying a pistol and a couple of batons.

This was when I heard something.

"Did anyone else hear that scream?" I asked the others.

They all nodded their heads, and moments later I saw shaking in nearby bushes. We readied ourselves for whatever was coming our way. It could be friend or foe, we simple didn't know.

What came out of the brushes was a young man, probably in his early twenties, he was garbed in a military uniform and he was holding a projectile weapon of some kind. I also noted that he was soaked in blood and wide eyed. He ran into Xander Harris, who tried to subdue the crazed man.

"Hey, calm down! Calm down, you - Oof!"

The man pushed the one eyed demon hunter aside, and continued running, but was tackled by the Krogan, who was easily able to keep the scared human from running way. Once he realised he couldn't move the man screamed, sobbed and then started shouting.

"They'llkillme!They'llkillme!They'llkillme!They'llkillme!They'llkillme!"

"Shut your bawling" the Krogan demanded.

Then I heard something, and I looked to see that a dark stain had formed at the front of the trousers of the scared men. He'd pissed himself. Upon seeing this the bounty hunter dropped the man to the ground in disgust.

Sarah was a bit more compassionate about the whole thing than the rest of us, she tried to comfort the now very messy man.

"Shh," she whispered. "It's alright. We won't hurt you"

While she was like a mother comforting a scared child, it still took a few minutes for the man's rapid breathing to slow down and after a while he stopped crying. However he hiccuped occasionally.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Williams was his name and he turned out to be a member of the UNSC Marine Corps, one of low rank sure, and he was no ODST, but they were some tough sons of bitches. I had to wonder what could have happened to make him freak out this. Of course seeing some unfamiliar aliens in our group might be partly why he was having trouble obtaining some calm.

"Why are you here?" Sarah asked.

He didn't seem to want to answer, and it struck me as odd that she would ask since she must know about the game preserves too, perhaps she just wanted to make sure that I was right.

"We were brought here too, you know. Me and ..my acquaintances" she told him "By some very nasty people".

"They weren't people" insisted the marine "They were monsters"

"What happened to you?" asked Sarah".

He didn't answer right away, but before too long the marine began to speak.

"We-we were patrolling, my whole squad" he told us "People had vanished from the colony, and we were trying to secure the area, and then I remember falling and we here. Those things killed my whole squad".

He started wailing again and Sarah did her best to comfort him.

"It'll be okay" she assured him.

"NO!" he shouted, while backing away from her. "THEY KILLED THEM ALL! THEY HUNTED US DOWN LIKE ANIMALS! I'M THE ONLY ONE LEFT!"

The marine managed to calm himself again.

"They took their bodies! I don't know what they did to them!"

"What were they?" Sarah asked "Were they tall humanoids who could turn invisible?".

A growling sound answered her question, and as a group we turned to see a pack of horned creatures heading out way. These were the horned hounds sometimes used in hunts like this.

Without words we swung into action. I had my sword so I used it, and waited for one of the hound things to charge. As it did I moved out of the way and sliced into its flesh with the tip of my blade just before it landed behind it. If I wounded the animal it showed no sign of it.

The beast charged again, leaping into the air. This time I took out a pistol, I'd been armed with one of Colonial Marine pistols for this hunt, and fired at the creature one handed. My actions seemed to annoy the creature more than anything else and once I'd emptied the clip it got ready to pounce once again.

"Aim for the soft spots" I reminded myself

My training had mostly been practical and I'd taught myself a lot, but my mentor had done his job. He'd told me to seek out weaknesses and exploit them when on the hunt. It was always just a matter of figuring out what those weaknesses were.

"Go for their eyes!" I shouted.

As the beast charged with its mouth wide open, I readied my weapon only for the monster to suddenly drop dead. Some sort of jagged sword, made of a dark metal removed the creature's head.

"Okay then" I muttered.

It was a moment later that I saw who had slain the creature. It was a slim humanoid figure in body hugging black and purple armour which incorporated a few bladed plates. I'd say she, it seemed female, but it was not human, the way she moved wasn't quite right. She was too nimble, too fast.

Still I didn't stop and just stare, even as the figure went after the other hounds, I reloaded my pistol.

Once the fighting was done, which didn't take long as the nimble fighter had little trouble dealing with the hounds, she turned to face me.

"Mon-Keigh" said the alien.

Upon hearing that I raised my pistol.

(Line Break)

 **Game Preserve. AVP Verse.**

Elsewhere, three blooded hunters had just finished reviewing the video footage of the latest group to added to this hunt.

They were an odd lot, they'd been trained as hunters, although they were not Yautja. Also this group had attracted the survivors of other hunts, meaning the group of hunters would grow stronger, should they all work together, that should make for greater sport.

The leader of the three Predators, who was one of the greatest warriors his clan had ever known, was already planning how he would kill each of the Yautja trained hunters.

However, they didn't want to face the humans and their allies right now. They were tired from their fight with the hounds they had sent to test their strength, agility and stamina.

No they'd wait for a while, observe, and learn more about the hunters, and when the time was right then they'd attack. They'd make good kills and claim fine new trophies, as true hunters did.

(Line Break)

 **Game Preserve. AVP Verse.**

"Lower your weapon" said a human sounding voice from behind me "We mean you no harm".

That would have been easier to believe if there hadn't been a fucking Drukhari right in front of me, and if something metallic wasn't poking me in the back.

"Let him go" Harris warned.

He'd somehow gotten to the side of me and now had his shotgun pointed at whoever was behind me.

"Peace, mon-keigh" said the Dark Eldar as she removed her oddly shaped helmet "If we wished you harm, we would have let the hunter's hounds have you".

It was odd that a Drukhar had saved me, normally one of those kind would simply watch in amusement while monsters ripped people apart. The only reason they wouldn't as if they wanted to take me as a slave, but that didn't seem likely right now given where we were.

Yet I figured the alien had a point about not killing me so I lowered my pistol and the sharp thing stopped poking me. A moment later everyone else also lowered their weapon, but wisely they did not relax their guards.

"I know better that to trust an Eldar" I said "Even if you don't mean us any harm directly that doesn't mean you aren't planning to use for some self serving purpose".

As a species they were simply incapable of seeing any other race as an equal. Which was also a failing of the Yautja, and I was sure many humans too, but I at least tried to see everyone as a person.

"What's an Eldar?" Harris asked.

My answer was as simple as possible.

"Evil space elf" I told him.

Which did sort of sum them up, even the Craftworld Eldar were a bunch of jerks.

"Oh" was all the one eyed demon hunter had to say about that.

The person who had been poking me in the back with something sharp moved into my field of vision.

"She has done me no harm" said the red headed woman who carried two odd looking swords "And like me she walks in two worlds".

Well that made no sense.

"My name is Rayne" the human looking woman then added.

I looked her over. The outfit, which did make her nice to look at, the swords, they clued me in.

"Hold on your Bloodrayne, the dhampir!" I almost shouted.

That got me some odd looks.

"She's a daywalker, like Blade" I explained.

Only Harris seemed to get that reference.

"She's a human/vampire hybrid" I added.

Some of the people here understood that. But most didn't. So I decided to try to explain who these people were and why I wanted too shoot one of them in the head a few times. Hopefully I could do this quickly as this really wasn't the best place to stand around and have a chat.

(Line Break)

 **Game Preserve. AVP Verse.**

"Well," muttered Harris. "Now what do we do?"

I'd thought matters over for some time now, but I no real ideas. I'd seen the Predators movie, but the humans in that story didn't get off the planet, and only two of them survived to the end of the film, so that wasn't much help.

Sure we had a larger group, made up of people with skills and advance weapons, and this would keep us alive for longer than most, it just didn't help me come with a way to save us. Not that it should be my job. I was no leader.

"I don't know what to do" I admitted "We have no way to contact anyone, even if there was someone we could call for help, and we have no way to get off this planet, assuming it is a planet. And to top it all off, we have Yautja hunters coming after us".

Basically we were screwed. Plus it was night time now, as well as cold, and we couldn't have a fire since Predators saw heat. A camp fire would just draw them in.

"So," said Sarah. "Who's going to be on lookout duty?"

Everyone was silent for a few moments.

"What's the point" Alice asked "They're fucking invisible".

Without our masks we couldn't see anyone using a Yautja cloak so anyone going out of this cave would be the first to die. Besides they'd be wetter and colder then everybody else.

"Rayne and I will watch for the hunters" the Dark Eldar said "We have the sharpest senses".

As it turned out the Drukhar wasn't really a Dark Eldar, she was half-human, it was obvious once it was pointed out, her skin was pale sure, but it was a very pale brown almost golden in fact. Her facial features were very fine, a little inhuman, but more like that of what I'd imagine an elf would look like rather then an alien Eldar. Also she did have the pointy ears, yet her eyes were very human.

Still that didn't mean I trusted her, even if she was part human, because it wasn't as if my species was all puppies, ice cream and hugs. In fact some humans were nearly as bad as the Dark Eldar.

"I'm going to try to get some sleep" I told the group.

No sense dying while tired.

(Line Break)

 **Game Preserve. AVP Verse.**

I was woken up by someone nudging me.

"What is it?" I asked.

I opened my eyes to see that Alice had moved over to sit next to me.

"Listen" she urged "There's something I need to tell you".

Since this seemed important I didn't speak I just waited for her to talk. She needed a few moments to gather her thoughts it seemed.

"I... we had a baby" she told "But the females of my Clan took the baby away from me. I came to the station to tell you... well I don't know what I was going to say, its just that I thought you ought to know that you have a kid. He's on the Yautja home world. I don't know where they took him or what they'll do to him".

If she expected me to be upset or angry, then she was doomed to disappointment as I didn't feel anything. And why should I?. I wasn't attached to her in any emotional way. In fact she'd told me no to get attached to anyone, and I was making an effort not to. Getting attached would just make me vulnerable.

"Thank you for telling me" was all I had to say.

For a moment she looked as if she wanted to talk some more, however she shook her head and moved away from me. Which left me free to go back to sleep.

(Line Break)

 **Game Preserve. AVP Verse.**

"Where are they coming from?!" someone called out.

"Who's firing?!" shouted Alice.

It was all loud noises and confusion.

"We have to go, now!" Harris shouted.

I wanted to argue, but a plasma bolt that missed me by just mere inches quickly changed my mind.

"Run for your lives!" another voice yelled.

This was one hell of a way to wake up. Even more effective than the pod.

"Scatter! They can't pick us all off!" shouted a female person.

"No!" I called out. "Stay together or they'll hunt us down one by one!"

While they didn't listen someone at least dragged me along with the group, and we all started running.

"Stop!"

Everyone froze to a grinding halt. We all had just run right up to the edge of a cliff, with nothing to cushion any fall except for a stream of water that was far below. From here we no way of knowing if it was deep enough to survive diving into.

"Damn it!" I cursed "They planned this! They planned on cornering us!".

"Will we make it if we jump?" I heard Sarah ask

That was when a plasma bolt flew over my head.

"We're all gonna die" I heard someone cry.

I looked at the water below.

 _Well it works in the movies._

"Fuck it. Everyone jump!" I yelled.

(Line Break)

 **Game Preserve. AVP Verse.**

Tok was a Narn of few words. He'd never been anyone special, just a low ranking warrior in service to his people. He'd joined a Yautja clan due to events outside his control, and he'd never really felt like one of that group. Nor had he mixed well with the non-Yautja at the station. But he had his honour, he wasn't going to run, he was going to die on his feet like a warrior should, and if that brought those that had chosen to flee some time to escape then that would be a nice bonus. Perhaps if the gods were kind he'd take down one of the hunters with him.

"I know you're out there! Show your face you coward!" Tok demanded.

The attacker appeared out of thin air. It looked like a large, muscular human male with dreadlocks, but its yellowish green skin made it clear that it wasn't human. It stood somewhere between eight to nine feet tall, wore a faceplate with a partial helmet over the top of the head, body armour (a chest guard, pauldrons, vambraces and greaves), leather boots of some sort, and had a small cannon mounted on its left shoulder. Strapped around its belt were multiple skulls, some of them not even human. The alien made a low, chattering croaking sound as it looked at the Narn.

Tok took out his sword, it was a special blade. A weapon that once freed from its scabbard could be returned if tasted blood or if the wielder died. The Narn intended to let his blade taste the blood of this creature.

"You have no honour" Tok told the Predator "You slew the UNSC human, the one who had lost his will to fight, he was unarmed, defenceless and yet you killed him. You are no warrior".

Twin ten inch long blades popped out of one of the gauntlets the alien wore. This was the only reply Tok got, and it was easy for the Narn to understand.

The two clashed their blades against each other. Tok slashed out at the hunter in anger, but was pushed to the ground when it shoved him aside. He quickly got back up and charged. The blades met again, and Tok tried to gain the upper hand with what he hoped was an unexpected moves.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his arm, the Predator had drawn first blood, but the Narn was still standing. The alien seemed impressed with this.

"I see that you like a good challenge" Tok said "Let's see how you like this!"

The two fighters clashed blades again, neither one of them hitting flesh. The hunter and the warrior pushed their blades against one another, only to break apart.

After putting some distance between the Tok charged, as the did the Predator, and when they met the moves they made were too fast for any human eye to have followed, although a certain part Eldar saw the whole thing, and sge was impressed.

All any human would have seen was the slash of blades and two figures standing motionless for a moment before two bodies hit the ground. The Predator had the tip of the Narn's sword driven into its skull in a upward thrust, while the blades of the hunter's gauntlet had found their way into the smaller aliens chest.

(Line Break)

 **Game Preserve. AVP Verse.**

I sputtered and coughed as I swam to the shore as fast as I could. The water had been deep enough thankfully, although on the downside it was also freezing cold, and my armour while somewhat light weight considering it was made of metal, wasn't that easy to swim in.

Still with some effort I made it to the shore and to my amazement all of my weapons had made it. I'd lost my arrows, which made my bow rather useless, and my pistol might now work now that it was wet, but at least I had my armour and blades. That was something.

A pair of very strong arms lifted me up and I made eye contact with the krogan bounty hunter

"You've got quads" was all he said.

"Thanks. Everyone here?" I asked.

We'd lost the Narn warrior, but everyone else seemed to be here. Oh wait the UNSC solider was gone, but that was no loss. The Narn had been with us when we'd jumped so I figured either he'd gotten swept down stream or he'd not jumped when the rest of us had.

"Okay we have a little time" I said next "But they'll be on...".

Someone else spoke before I could finish.

"It's not over," said an unfamiliar voice.

Everyone spun around to see...something. It removed its mask revealing...an elderly man. His white hair was brittle and shaggy, he had dark circles under his eyes, like he had not slept in a long time, and wore dirty rags underneath the alien armour. Must be the mandatory crazy survivor guy.

"Who are you?!" shouted Sarah.

I'd forgotten how loud she could be.

"The guy saving your asses. Now, you can or can't trust me. I don't really care. But I know this jungle more than the back of my hand. I should know; I've been here for years, and they haven't found me yet"

I was tempted to just kill him now, since he might try to kill us, but he hadn't actually done anything wrong, and I couldn't simply assume he'd betray us. All I could was keep a close eye on him.

(Line Break)

 **Hideout.** **Game Preserve.**

"I don't know how to fly one of their ships! I'm to smart to go anywhere near those things" said the old man as he shook his head.

The rest of the group had been asking the old man questions, and we'd gotten on to the the subject of the Predator's ship. Of course there were ships around, but I'd already dismissed the idea of stealing one since the craft would blow up if we tried to take off in a stolen ship. I could over ride that if I had wrist device, alas I did not.

"Then, what are we going to do?" demanded Alice angrily.

"Stay here in my shelter" the old man offered.

I could understand why the Predators didn't simply charge into this cavern, the passage ways were at parts too narrow for anything larger than a human to squeeze through. Had the Krogan in our group not been killed on the way he never would have made it inside.

It also helped that he'd charged right at the enemy, and had used the grenades he'd found earlier to blow himself along with a Yautja. That been both heroic and very, very cool. Of course Predators weren't simply going to give just because one of them got blown up.

The walls of this cavern and the caves that led to it were warm, and there was hot spring within the cavern, suggesting that there magma somewhere nearby, the heat would mess with Yautja vision helping to keep us hidden.

And I could imagine that there was some sort of mineral in these rocks that messed with their sensor, could be something as simple as heavy deposits of lead, or a similar dense metal.

"They haven't found me yet" the survivor replied once I asked him about how he'd stay alive for so long "I guess no hunter wants to go after a weak, small old man".

The klingon warrior said something and laughed.

"Any old man who has lived as long as you in a place like this would never be weak in my eyes" Xander Harris translated.

Maybe they didn't want him badly enough to force their way in here, but even if they were unwilling to blast their way in the Predators could have sent in their hounds, or simply stake out the exits while using smoke to drive the survivor out of his hideout. That's how I'd get to him.

I didn't think on that for long as I remained myself that the Yautja had a very different way of seeing things that went well beyond the fact that they saw in terms of heat instead of light.

This was when I noticed that the survivor was taking off his armour, what I had thought to be dirty clothing turned out to be a dirty jump suit and on the back of that jump suit were the numbers 101. I then checked his arm and saw, yep that had to be a pipboy.

"You can't be" I whispered.

I really did meet all the coolest people.

"Hey Gothic, don't you read Yautja" I heard Sarah ask me.

Somewhat.

"A little why do you ask?" was my question.

As one would expect from a Fallout character the Lone Wanderer, it had to be him, had salvaged what he could. This included a wrist device, which I quickly grabbed and tried to use.

"There must be something blocking the signal" I told the group "If there wasn't I could call the nearest scout ship to us, or even send out a distress signal".

If I wanted to I could make the device exploded, but that wouldn't be productive.

"We'll need to leave these caves and find a clearing big enough for a ship to land in" I told everyone "But if the Yautja have a mother ship in orbit then they'll just shoot us down".

No one seemed too worried about that.

"If we stay here they'll either pick us off one by one, or we'll have to spend our lives trapped in this cave" the pureblood Sith commented.

Neither outcome was very appealing.

"Well if you kids are going to get yourselves killed you might as well know where your going" said the Lone Wanderer.

Before long he presented us with a crudely drawn map.

"Okay if that's the river, and this these caves then the alien camp is actually not far from here" I realised "We just have to follow the river".

This was a bit of good news. Made a nice change.

"So are we going now?" asked Alice.

"You might as well" said the Lone Wanderer "Since I don't have enough food for you all".

Yeah so far this guy wasn't impressing me. He'd failed to realise that that the krogan who'd been in our group wouldn't be able to fit inside his hideout and now he was telling us if we stayed we'd starve anyway. Clearly he'd lost the plot at some point. Might be best to leave him behind.

(Line Break)

 **Scout Ship. AVP Universe.**

"Well that was short and intense" I commented as the small craft took off.

I ignored the remark Sarah made about how that compared to having sex with me and instead I focused on how it was a testament to how odd my life was that a day spent on a Yautja game preserve barely registered as being weird. It had certainly been a trail, but hardly the strangest thing ever to happen to me.

"So who made it?" I asked.

After some checking it turned out that Harris, Sarah Connor, Project Alice, the Pureblood Sith and his two women, a Twi'lek and a human, as well as the semi-Eldar and BloodRayne had all made it. Quite an achievement really.

"Wait what happened to that klingon warrior guy?" Harris asked.

"Last I saw him, he threw himself between me and Yautja, seeking death in battle no doubt" I said.

Harris didn't look happy.

"Aren't we going back for him?" the one eyed demon hunter wondered.

I couldn't imagine why.

"You want me to go back to try to find the guy who wanted to die in battle and whose sacrifice allowed us to escape?" I asked "Wouldn't that be make the whole sacrifice thing rather pointless?".

Before he could reply to that an alert chimed.

"Doesn't matter anyway" I was now saying "There's a mother ship ahead and we're being brought into dock, I can't override it".

Seemed as if we'd all die soon enough. Oh well escaping had been nice while it lasted.


	20. Chapter 20

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 20**

 **Clan Ship. AVP Verse.**

As a group we charged onto the bridge of the massive star vessel only to find it totally empty, just like everywhere else.

"Is there actually anyone on this ship?" I wondered "Or did we just take part in the most one sided boarding action in history?".

As of yet. I couldn't be sure. I could however read some of the displays, and I understood what the different symbols meant when I viewed the hologram of the ship that was currently on display.

"If I'm reading this right then we're the only life signs on the ship" I informed everyone "But people in stasis don't always show up as life signs so someone needs to go check our the hypersleep pods to see in anyone is being stored. They might not have launched all of their prey onto the planet at the same time".

We could still have enemies or allies within the ship.

"Oh and some Predator mother ships have xenomorph queens in frozen storage" I then said.

Everyone exchange looks that were not exactly panic, rather they were expressions of deep concern. Which was very understandable.

"I will take care of it" said the Dark Eldar hybrid.

My thinking was that she'd kill any Yautja she found in those pods, assuming there were any. They could all be down on the planet.

The Pureblood Sith, whose name I really should learn now that he was going to live along for me to bother getting to know, came over to the display and zoomed it out so that we could see where we where.

"Are we inside the planet?" Sarah asked.

That was how it seemed. This might be why the ship was empty. There would be no sense leaving guards on board if no one was around to threaten the ship, or at least the Predator's might of seen it that way. Again I reminded myself that it was pointless to try to figure out why the Yautja did the things that they did.

"This explains where everyone is" the Sith was now saying "There are four scout ships missing. Three were on the planet, one must be bringing in more prey for the others to hunt".

Made sense. It wasn't as if they would have popped out to get some milk.

"Give me a moment" the Pureblood was now saying.

I wasn't sure what he did, but the symbols on the map that must have been the scout ships suddenly blinked out.

"Did you just destroy them?" I heard Sarah ask.

He nodded, and I soon realised that while he might have killed a few enemy Predators he'd also prevented anyone else from escaping.

"I fired the ship's remaining torpedoes" he explained "We've only got the main cannon left, so I suggest we leave".

That was a good plan, with only one possible flaw.

"Does anyone know how to fly this ship?" I asked.

Everyone present exchanged looks.

"I can fire the weapons" said the Sith "That about it".

People were now all looking at me.

"Just because I can fly a scout ship doesn't mean I can fly this thing" I said.

I looked at Sarah.

"You can fly a scout ship, you try flying this thing" I suggested.

She didn't move.

"But you make the plans" argued Sarah "You always seem to know what you're doing, and anyway you taught me to fly a scout ship".

I sighed.

"Hey its not my job to make the plans" I told her "I'm not the leader here".

"Well why not be" suggested Harris "No one else seems to know what to do, and you do normally have a plan".

I looked over at the clan leader's throne. It was inviting, if not very comfy looking, and it had spikes which was cool.

"Well I don't want to be the leader" said Project Alice "So you might as well sit in the big chair".

"Its not like it matters if the ship's not going anywhere" the Sith said.

"Yes, Captain this star vessel and stoke the engines so we can leave" urged Bloodrayne.

From this I got the impression that she didn't quite understand what was going on. If she was Bloodrayne from the game then she'd have been fighting Nazis vampires or something like that when the Predators found her.

"I do not care which of you lesser creatures commands this ship" was all the Dark Eldar, who had returned to the vessel's bridge, wished to say.

Next we all turned to the human woman and the Twi'lek who seemed to follow the Sith everywhere.

"What do you ladies think?" I asked.

They didn't say a word.

"It's not their place to speak" the Sith said "They serve me, and I speak for them, that's all you need to know".

Well that made me feel awkward. I'd known that the ship empire practised slavery I just hadn't figured out that they were slaves. Although they were both armed with blasters, and blades, and they didn't seem to be mistreated. Perhaps the relationship between them and their master was more complex than I could currently understand.

"So I get to be a Clan Leader after all, and I even get my own mother ship, only I can't fly it, and we're basically sitting ducks because we have no torpedoes left".

For some reason I found this to be extremely funny, and soon other people expressed mirth. Laughter was something shared by many kinds of humanoids in my experience.

While still laughing I sat down in what was my chair and rest my elbow on what turned out to be some sort of control panel. A small hologram was displayed, showing our current location. Then after pressing a few buttons I figured out how to change the image.

"I think this must be what let's the Clan Leader decide where the ship goes" I said to the group "If this works like a scout ship then I can fly the ship!".

Which while good news it didn't solve all our problems.

"So where are we going?" asked Harris "My thinking was that we don't go back to the station. As much as I'd like to see my bar again. I don't think we'd be welcome".

It was even possible that the Yautja station had been destroyed or taken over in that race's civil war, and we'd all been captured. But for what must have been the hundredth time I reminded myself not to try to figure out the Predators, they were just too alien. Hopefully I wouldn't need to keep trying because I never intended to ever see a Yautja ever again.

"What we need is somewhere with advanced tech so that we can the ship retrofitted, but it also has to be a place full of people who won't try to take the ship off us, and won't expect much in payment" I said, mostly talking to myself.

This was a tall order to say the least.

"Well I might know someone who can help" said a voice.

I almost reached for my pistol as someone dropped their cloak. It turned out to be the Lone Wanderer. Apparently he'd followed us to the scout ship and had boarded this one with us without anyone noticing. Well maybe the Eldar had not noticed and just hadn't bothered to tell anyone, her race was known for doing silly shit like that.

"Truth be told its a funny story about how I met him" said the Lone Wanderer "You see he thought he'd killed me, but that was just some idiot who'd followed me out of the Vault".

Like all stereotypical old men his story took a while to tell.

"Anyway his radiation treatment saved my life, but turned my hair white, as you can see" he was now saying.

It was just now that I was noticing that the Lone Wanderer might not be as old as he looked. If anything he look worn out not elderly. Perhaps surviving all this time while being hunted explained his tired appearance.

I could not imagine that he'd been getting enough to eat, or that he'd been able to get a decent amount of sunlight considering that his hollow planet didn't even have a proper sun. Seemed more like giant light bulb to me. Which would explain why the sun had never moved in the sky, there had been no sunrise or sunset, just suddenly it was day then night.

"Who is this person?" I asked.

The Lone Wanderer smirked.

"Well he's you"

Huh?

(Line Break)

 **Clan Ship. Fallout Verse.**

One jump into another dimension later and we were in orbit of some version of Fallout Earth. Only this version of that messed up planet was apparently the centre of a multi-dimensional empire of sorts, that according to the Lone Wanderer was ruled by a version of myself who was some of brilliant, and slightly mad, scientist.

I had thought that nothing could freak me out, but learning that there was a version of me out there who ruled worlds was unsettling. Not because he was more successful than me, I didn't see why anyone would want to rule anything when they enjoy a life made of travel and adventure like I did, what bothered me was that... well I wasn't sure it was about this that bothered me so much. Only that it did.

Of course it made sense that there were other versions of me out there, it was a big multi-verse after all, and I wasn't so arrogant as to believe myself unique or even that special. I just hadn't imagined that I'd get to met an alternate version of myself.

Not that I had met him yet. The Lone Wanderer had taken a scout ship, along with Harris, Sarah and Alice, down to the Earth below in order to make contact with this Sparky Gothic, and to find out if he had the resources to help us retrofit this vessel.

We needed to have this ship heavily modified, at the very least we needed the controls altered so that they were easier to use, and we needed new torpedoes as well. Plus the Yautja didn't go in much for comforts so it would be nice if we could have entertainments and luxuries added to the ship.

I should have gone with them, but since I was the only one of us who had much of a clue of how to fly the ship the others had strongly advised that I stay on board. They couldn't order me to since I was the Clan Leader now, but they right to suggest that I stay here.

Trost, which was the name of the Pureblood Sith, entered the bridge and for a moment I wondered how strong he was in the Force. All members of the Sith species were connected to the Force, but not all had the power to use the Force like a Jedi Knight or a Sith Lord. Trost didn't use a lightsabre and I was pretty sure he'd never mind tricked me, but I would be keeping an eye on him none the less.

"I've got my women going room by room clearly everything out, and double checking for any xenomorph eggs that might be stored away" the red skinned humanoid reported "Nothing on this ship is suitable for humans. I suggest we sell or dump everything and start over, equip the craft for our own needs. We can fill it with spoils and trophies of our own hunts".

This seemed wise to me, but only if we could find someone to make the ship more liveable for non-Yautja. We guys might not mind roughing it, but I imagined that the women who made up the majority of us would want proper bathrooms at least.

Plus we had a food issue. There was plenty of water on the ship, a massive tank full of drinking water, that would last months, but there was no food on board. We'd have to go somewhere in order to stock up.

At least we didn't have to worry about a xenomorph queen getting lose. This ship had been searched a few times and there was nothing living on board aside from us.

"Sounds like a plan" I said.

"Mon-Keig. I believe I have the ship's main weapon ready to fire" reported the Eldar hybrid "It seems to be some sort of plasma beam weapon".

The semi-human creature had already figured out that we were out of insertion pods, and she'd found out how to switch the cloaking device on. Eldar were a lot smarter than humans, and while this woman might not be totally Eldar, she seemed superior to my species. Not that I was totally human. I did have some Yautja DNA.

"Don't call me Mon-Keig, Space Elf" I demanded.

She titled her helmeted head in what might have been respect.

"As you wish Clan Leader" she said "And do not call me Space Elf, I am **Drukhari** ".

I'd call her by name, but that translated in English as Mongrel Bitch according to the Dark Eldar. I'd have to convince her to take a new name.

Before I could discuss that one of the Sith's women entered the bridge, and she was carrying a heavy looking container.

"She found our masks, wrist devices and plasma weapons" Trost reported.

As those were handed out to their owners some sort of alert chimed.

"Oh I think the scout ship is on its way back" I told everyone as an alert went off "Best get down to the docking bay in case I'm wrong".

Without a word we'll all grabbed our weapons and headed down to where the scout ship was coming into dock.

(Line Break)

 **The Citadel of Gothics.**

Things had progressed in some very unexpected ways. As it turned out Sparky Gothic had given up his throne, turning over his awesome empire to others so that it could become a democracy of all things. Which I figured wouldn't work out well at all.

Of course that sort of thing simply didn't happen over night. Sparky Gothic was still visiting his former dominion, to help keep things together during the transition of power.

Lucky for us he'd been around when the Lone Wanderer had sought him out. They'd talked and then Sparky Gothic had been brought on board my ship along with some of his assistants, who all happened to be attractive and brilliant women for some reason, they'd modified the engines of the ship in order to bring us here.

As to what or where here was. Of that I couldn't be sure. It was a dimension of some sort, very much unlike anywhere else I'd been. Yet it was also very familiar in some respects. The actual Citadel was more like a outer space colony than a fortress, but I didn't point that out.

"While not yet fully operational the Citadel is intended to be a safe haven for all Gothics, a place to escape from their foes, a place to rest, to rearm, to exchange knowledge and resources" the tour guide woman told me and the clan we followed her "Should you join us you'll be provided with a number of apartments large enough for yourself and your group".

Well I'd wanted to find a place for us, somewhere we could go between hunts, and now it looked as if we'd found it. Of course I didn't know if it was suitable for us yet, but it looked promising. This Citadel had its own space port, which would be handy.

Of course it was also full of different versions of myself, not many, which was odd considering how large the place was. Perhaps the people in charge here were planning to invite more people to join them.

"Our plan is to have some Gothics open up businesses, you'll have a chance to acquire a store should you show wish it" the tour guide was now saying.

At this point Mrs Tour Guide had started moving so we all followed. The woman I still couldn't place, but my gut was telling me I'd seen here before. Perhaps she was from what most people would consider fictional and wasn't displayed in a live action format. That would explain her looking familiar yet not totally recognisable.

"Currently only a handful of Gothics even have access to the Citadel, and while there are potentially thousands of Gothics scattered throughout we don't intend to invite more than a few hundred to join us. That's how exclusive the Citadel is" we were then told.

As I looked around I saw a few people with my face, but no two of me were exactly like, these Gothics, looked much alike having the basic same features as myself, yet there were also many differences.

Many wore different kinds of armour, others wore a wide range of clothing. No two of them (well me) had all the same equipment. Plus there was a wide of hair colours, and styles on display.

Most of the Gothics had someone with them, female someones, sometimes whole groups, more than a few of which were fictional characters I knew about. At first I wondered if I was the only version of me with a males in my group until I saw otherwise.

However most Gothics had what I assume to be Harems of some sort. I didn't really understand the appeal. It seemed like it would be a lot of work to keep so many women happy.

"While its still early days, the Citadel has its own fully-functional economy and infrastructure" I was now being informed "As well as defences both physical and mystical".

I could only see other versions of myself, and some females, who were armed. Any other means of protection for the Citadel I couldn't see, but that didn't mean they weren't there.

As for the businesses, there were only a few open as far as I could tell, and there was plenty of room for expansion here as well. Perhaps I would open a business and sell off spoils from my hunts that I didn't wish to keep for myself.

"Who are the Gothics hiding from?" the Dark Elder hybrid in my group asked.

The Tour Guide had mentioned that this was a safe haven.

"The Magic High Commission, the Gallifreyan Time Lords, The Combine, The Kromaggs, Wolfram and Hart, the Celestialsapeins, the Time-Space Administrative Bureau, The Council of Reeds, The Mario Brothers, The Flowers that Be.."

I stopped her there.

"You mean The Powers That Be" I corrected.

Must be a typo.

"Yes them too" the woman said before going on with her list "The Many-Angled Ones, The Xeelee, the Ivory Kings, the Monitors, the Downstreamers, The Divines, the Daedric Princes, The Great Race of Yith, The Old Ones, Ganon, The Timedrivers, Nicole Bolas".

I had to mention something, if only to get her to stop.

"You should add the Yautja clans to that list" I advised "If nothing else they might want their ship back".

Perhaps I would have enquired about some of the other oddities I saw, but that was when Miss Tour Guide, the clan and I stepped onto a platform, which was soon whizzing up into the air.

"We're now on our way to meet with the Council" the woman informed me "They'll answer any questions you have, and deal with your concerns".

I figured that this meeting could take a while as I had a lot of concerns and many, many questions.

(Line Break)

 **The Citadel of Gothics**

The apartment, well apartments, we'd been granted were rather fancy. Only basically furnished, but that just left room for plenty of personalisation. Currently the clan and I were in my apartment, which was on the top floor of a block and was rather large, because of its size it made a good meeting place.

"So what does everyone think?" I asked "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing, but this does look like it could serve as a good base of operations, and the Council is offering us a good deal".

In exchange for getting to examine the mother ship we were getting this entire apartment block, and a warehouse for the storing of our goods. In exchange for one of the scout ships we were being offered a total refit of the clan ship, and a large sum of what passed for money here.

On the downside we'd have to be obey the Citadel's rules, some of which weren't popular with the rest of the group.

Apparently non-Gothics got branded with a small special mark so that everyone would know which Gothic a person belonged to. Which might not be a big deal for harems, or the wives/girlfriends of Gothics, but no one in my clan belong to me in any sense. I didn't think this rule took into account that any Gothic would men working with and for him. Odd that.

"Well you don't have to get branded" I pointed out "You aren't being forced to ever return to this place".

Sarah gave me an annoyed look.

"That's not really the point" she said

I gave the matter some thought.

"We've got marks from different Yautja Clans" I reminded "Perhaps we should get them removed and then all get branded with a new mark. One for the Clan we are all part of now. Me included".

People exchanged looks.

"So we'd be Clan Gothic?" asked Alice.

I shrugged.

"A good a name as any" I said.

There was silence for a while. No one seemed happy about the name, but not one had any better ideas either.

"It says something about us that a place in another dimension that is full of versions of myself doesn't even freak any of us out" I mused.

We were just that used to the strange.

"Well the Citadel has lots to offer" I said next, wanting to change the subject "And we've got enough of the local currency to open a business".

I turned to Harris.

"We could open a new bar for you here" I offered "You can serve drinks and make deals to sell our spoils".

Xander nodded his approval of the idea.

"Maybe a strip club" he mused.

The women in the room gave him unhappy looks.

"Hey I once spent most of a summer working at a strip club for women who were way too free with their hands" he protested "I'm owed this".

Again I decided to change the subject.

"This place does have resources we can use" I was now saying "And I wouldn't have been invited to join if we didn't have things of value to others here in the Citadel. We could all become very rich and powerful".

I noticed that Trost was reading off some sort of data padd.

"According this information people don't age here" the Pureblood Sith told us "They have night and day in the Citadel, time does pass, but you don't get older, so basically while you're here you're immortal, only you can die from getting hurt. They do have magical healing and future tech for their doctors so you'd have to some real damage to kill someone here or to be killed".

That was interesting.

"So all in favour of using this place as a base of operations between hunts?" I asked "And by hunts I mean we only go after slavers, pirates, and other criminals, and that we salvage as well in order to pay for repairs and maintenance to the ship".

I raised my own hand, and soon everyone agreed.

"You know the whole point of having a Clan Leader is that you make all the hard choices" Harris reminded me.

Again I shrugged.

"I know" I then said "But now if this blows up in our faces you can't all blame me".

The conversation moved on, and I turned to the Dark Eldar hybrid. As things had turned out she wasn't from the Warhammer 40K galaxy. Which was good because it meant she had no connection to She Who Thirsts. She even had a human soul according to what the Council had told us. Which hadn't made her any happier when she'd found out.

On the worrying side it meant that there were Dark Eldar out of the their natural habitat somewhere in the multi-verse and they were making half-breeds for some reason. Hopefully I'd never find out what that was about as it felt like a lot of trouble to me.

I also looked over at Rayne, the human/vampire, had she been a pure vampire she would have been staked already, but the Council were willing to allow a hybrid access to the Citadel as long as she didn't bite anyone. Plus she didn't have anywhere else to go since her world had been over run with Nazis vampires.

"Once the refit is done the knowledge of how to control the ship will uploaded directly into our minds" I informed everyone "But we might still need a crew".

Trost cleared his throat in order to get everyone's attention.

"Might I suggest doing what I did back when I was a privateer for the empire" he was saying "When I was looking for a crew I went to a slave market at the boarder of the empire and brought people with some expertise in running a ship. Then I offered their freedom and a sum of credits if they worked for me to pay back what I had paid for them. They were servants not crew, and they were happy to do what I asked of them since they knew that were earning their own freedom. I even offered those who worked the hardest a small share of the plunder, stuff like jewellery, and those that really proved themselves loyal were even allowed to carry weapons".

I expected protests, but instead everyone listened.

"Well its better than using slaves or trying to run the whole ship ourselves" Alice commented "And I've always wanted a tall man, with dark hair who doesn't talk too much".

We were an odd bunch indeed.

"We'll have to by more apartments for the crew since it would be cruel to leave on the ship all the time" I said "but other than that we just need to make sure we have enough supplies for everyone".

I had more to say.

"Okay so we wait for the refit" I decided "Get the info needed to run the ship, dumped into our heads. Go out and salvage enough tech to buy a crew, buy the crew, and come back so the info can be uploaded in their heads too. Sounds like a plan".

I knew of a few star ships we could still strip parts from.

"What do we do until then?" Sarah wondered.

I had a few ideas.

"Explore the Citadel, spend your share of the credits" I suggested "Hang out in your new apartments, they do have entertainment systems".

All the crew would get a share of the profits, even the servants, we'd just get the bigger shares.

"As for me" I said "I'm going to look into opening a bar for Xander here to run".

There was bound to be someone around here I could talk to about that.

(Line Break)

 **The Citadel of Gothics**

I was finding the Citadel to be a very interesting place. While it was in the process of becoming a true society, it lacked a proper population and services, it had clearly been inhabited for some time, and who ever had been living here must have been preparing for the day when others would be brought in.

This seemed self evident to me because of many reasons, but most it was the statutes in the park. These stone carvings were of me in a sense, but also not. They seemed like strangers when I read the carvings at the bases which told me of their achievements.

These statues were of men who could make or break worlds. Tributes to warriors who'd fought in battles that had changed the fates of nations, and gone into battle by the side of might heroes. These were statues of Wizards who had defeated dark gods and demons.

I must seem very small and unimportant compared to them. Yet I had to wonder what had happened to turn them into those sort of people. Since we all must of started of in similar states, it could only be experiences that were different, or maybe some versions of me had just been luckier than others.

While others might feel small compared to these giants I did not. I was a hunter, a warrior of cunning and skill. So what if I hadn't conquered worlds, in the end we'd all ended up here hadn't we.

There was perhaps something deep and meaningful in what I'd just realised, but alas there was no here to share it with. Not that it mattered all I really wanted to do was to get some shopping done, and then go find out about the amusements this place had.

(Line Break)

 **The Citadel of Gothics**

Despite the fact that Harris had only a couple of days to get things organised he already had his new bar up and running. Which might seem impossible, but the Citadel had Star Trek type replicators and nano-forges, so anything that wasn't made out of some super exotic material or a living thing could be easily produced here. Which was how he'd been able to furnish and decorate this new club so quickly.

As he'd promised it was a strip club, and while that wasn't really my thing I was part owner, and I had to admit I was somewhat curious to what kind of place Harris had created so I'd entered the building.

Already there were dancers selling views of their bodies for tips. Most of the dancers were young Asari who been evacuated to the Citadel from Illuim by one of the more powerful Gothics. From what I'd heard most of the young blue skinned beauties had been sent somewhere else.

Some had stayed here and in order to pay their rent they had to find work. Xander had hired a few, now they worked here and shook their bodies in tune with the music, showing more skin than was allowed in legitimate strip clubs on other worlds. Also I was sure the sign above the bar told the patrons that touching the girls was encouraged rather than forbidden.

Seemed odd to me that Harris would set up such a place, however he had been through a lot recently, perhaps this was just something he was doing to cope with the madness. That or wanted revenge for whatever had happened to him when he'd worked in strip club for women.

Once inside I sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. The liquor burned my throat and made his eyes feel heavy, but not for long as I was used to the effects of alcohol. Still it combined with the pleasing music let my mind cloud over in haze of pleasure.

Suddenly I felt a small hand on my shoulder, which was bare of armour for a change and I turned to see an Asari dancer who was down to her panties. Her body was slender and tone, her breasts were medium sized and firm. Plus she had a look of mischief in her eyes.

Without a word she got up on the bar and I downed another drink as she moved around on her knees, then I gave her one of the fancy crystal coins they used here as money.

"My name is Amelie, tell me about yourself, Mr. Big Spender" said the stripper.

The music was soft enough that I didn't have to shout, and unlike what I'd imagined of strip clubs the lights here were more bright enough to ensure that I could see what was on offer, but not so bright that I felt exposed.

"I'm the captain of the ship you can see at the port" I told the stripper.

Well actually I wasn't, a Clan Leader was more than a captain, but that was the simplest term for it.

"That big ship is yours" she said "Does it travel to other dimensions like the shuttle that brought me here?".

I found that interesting to here because I hadn't know that anyone else had craft capable of making such trips. I did know that the Citadel made of use of portals, but the space port was empty aside from the mother ship.

"The engines are being upgraded" I told the blue babe.

"Taking on any crew" she asked

In fact I was.

"We are looking for people" I said "What can you do".

Before replying she gave me her underwear, no doubt she was trying to distract me, but I was a hunter. I knew when to stay focused.

"Whatever you want" she offered.

I considered this.

"Well I could do with someone to cook and clean for me" I said "And to keep me warm at night. Does that interest you?".

Her reply was to take her underwear back, and put them on. I thought for a moment she was going to storm off. Only instead she took my arm and we soon headed for the exit.

"I'll give it a try" she decided "If either of us aren't happy with the arrangement you can just drop me off somewhere. If it works out in the long run, well we can discuss that when I leave my maiden stage in a few years".

That last part I sort of understood.

"Hey Amelie. Where do you think you're going?" a called after her.

It was another asari who had spoken.

"This isn't a whore house!" the other woman shouted.

"And I'm not a whore" Amelie replied "I just want to travel before I settle down".

Ah so that was why she was willing to be my personal serving girl. For a chance to see some of the multi-verse while at my side. Yeah I couldn't blame her for that, my life was pretty awesome. It was also super weird, so hopefully she'd able to adapt to that.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author Note**

I haven't got the time or the means to write these days, but I do have a few files saved in my doc manger. For once I had a day off with nothing to do so I had enough times to spell check and to do some editing on a couple of chapters for this story.

 **Predator Gothic**

 **Part 21**

 **Wizard's Workshop. The Citadel.**

With a highly active, and sometimes downright pornographic, imagination such as mine, it was not hard for me to picture in my mind what a wizard's workshop should look like, and this was more or less what I'd imagined it would be upon first hearing of it.

This Wizard, who didn't call himself Gothic unlike all the other versions of myself at the Citadel, had everything I'd want if I was a powerful sorcerer. Which sadly I never could be as I no magical talent at all. Not that this was a big issue as I was more of a warrior type anyway.

Of course this mage, who was called Damien for some reason, he had a lot of books, also a big cauldron that had odd coloured steam coming out of it, and equipment for what I assumed to be some form of alchemy. I also spotted many types of crystals, jars of rare herbs and bottles of potions that been prepared well in advance of use.

Upon closer inspection of the walls I saw moving paintings, most of which were lewd, which hung on the walls next to mounted magical weapons, and there was even a dragon's skull taking up one entire wall. If it was a trophy then I envied the wizard for facing such a creature must have been a true challenge.

Aside from all of that I also saw some magical staffs resting against the walls, odd little devices that made no sense to me, as well as other odds and ends, such as a mixture of both old fashioned and more modern writing equipment.

The overall effect was somewhat ruined by the lack of stone walls, dribbling candles, and wise cracking raven that rested onto top of a skull, however this was forgivable since I knew that I would much rather instead have central heating, proper lighting, decent plumbing and attractive witches.

"You see rather than taking an animal and making it your familiar in order to make it more intelligent, I'll be taking an animal and making it part human using a complex magic ritual" the wizard was currently telling me as he worked "Since you don't have magical abilities I'll provide the actual power while you provide the blood required to make the creature part human".

The next part of this bit of magic was to somehow charge the potion that was inside a large vase, with some sort of mystical power. Which he did by casting spells on the vase.

Now the potion in the vase was ready for the soul, or so the Wizard said. Apparently capturing a soul really wasn't that hard, but he didn't do that sort of thing himself and instead used Black Souls gems that someone had already filled. Which helped to explain why this magical service was expensive. Filled Black Soul gems didn't exactly grow on trees.

I also learned that this spell used to be only good for making cat people, but Wizard Gothic had been able to expand the range of animals that could be transformed by calling upon different gods.

This time a Direworlf pup would be used, Damien had found the creature during his travels. He stunned the pup and then dropped into the potion, which seemed very odd to be, however magic wasn't my department so I didn't question this.

"Now add some of your blood" the spellcaster instructed "Quickly before the poor pup drowns"

I drew my ceremonial dagger and did as he wished.

 _The form is the vessel, rendered anew. The base is stone, bathed in blood. The gem is fire and elements rarefied... Horus, grant me the power... So that I may mould this creature... That it may be reborn... That it may serve him... arise creature!  
_

I moved into a fighting stance as purple coloured gas filled the air, for a moment I thought we were under attack, only when the mist cleared I saw nothing other than a person in the vase who slowly raised their head above the rim of the vase and looked at me.

It was a wolfgirl. She had cute wolf ears instead of human ones, and she even took after me somewhat in appearance, she had my dark hair and oddly coloured eyes.

"Well congrats" said the Wizard "You're a father".

I really didn't know what to say to that.

(Line Break)

 **Jungle. Zorya.**

According to data that I'd been able to gather and then later upload into my new wrist device, which like my ship had been upgraded at the Citadel, this planet was first colonised in the year 2160.

I'd also discovered that Zorya's temperate and tropical zones were overrun with plants and fungi of all kinds. As a result, the air in most of the habitable areas was choked with pollen and spores that ranged from being benign to downright deadly. Thankfully my mask filtered out such hazards. If it hadn't the air of some alien world would have killed me long ago.

By the looks of things as I'd flown my scout ship over the world, the scattered colonies across the planet had resorted to clear-cutting and slash-and-burn farming to create habitable zones in the more rural areas. In areas where the spores are thickest lived large amounts of vorcha.

While both mining and manufacturing industries of my kinds flourished here, I had no interest in harming hard working men and women, who likely had families to support. Besides hunting members of my own species wasn't enjoyable, and the foundries and such here employed many humans.

I much preferred more alien prey. Lucky for me Zorya was also home to the Blue Suns mercenary company, who dominated the colonies' security forces, so there were plenty of valid targets out here.

Nearly every colony on this world had a Suns recruiting station, if not a training camp, though from what I'd seen this hardly made the planet any safer. Piracy, drugs, and many kinds of violence were commonplace. If anything the mercenary groups were the cause of all the crime.

Not that I was going to complain as by allowing pirates and other crooks to set up shop here the mercenaries gave me and my fellow hunters more prey to hunt.

I'd decided to bring my clan here for some sport, and hopefully some bonding, while the clan ship underwent its refitting. We had two scout ships, both of which had the ability to traverse dimensions, and they'd already been upgraded and refurbished by people at the Citadel. Meaning that they been able to bring us here, and would be able to get us back. Sarah had piloted one ship while I took the other, but they'd headed for a different planet once we'd arrived in the galaxy.

Not only did these ships now have improved system, which made them easier for myself and Sarah Connor to pilot, they were much more suitable for habitation by non-Yautja. Meaning that they were actually comfortable to live in, but we'd made camp out of the ship because sometimes I liked to do that.

Also all the trophies of the clan who'd last owned the mother ship as well as the smaller vessels had been thrown away, so we needed to start refilling the ship. And not just with trophies either we needed more weapons so going after mercs killed two birds with one stone.

My clan's Dark Eldar had decided to join me, and of course my direwolf was often at my side, when she wasn't wandering off somewhere to investigate some sound or smell.

"Ayra, Mulan, Eowyn, Sura, Jingū, Rhaenys, Visenya, Brienne, Samus" I suggested "Buffy, Mileena, Xena, Zelda, just pick one".

The Dark Eldar who'd joined my Clan wanted a name that we lesser races could actually pronounce, and that didn't translate into something stupid, so I was going through all the names of warrior women that I knew. So far none of them seemed to appeal to the part space elf.

Currently we were sitting around a fire pit waiting for a varren to cook. Varren were omnivores with a preference for living prey. Originally native to the krogan home world of Tuchanka, they were —like most life from Tuchanka—savage, clannish, and consummate survivors.

They are pack hunters when vulnerable prey is readily available and become scavengers when outnumbered or outclassed. Their supreme adaptability, vicious demeanour and rapid breeding cycle made them a ubiquitous and dangerous pests on many worlds. Virtually everywhere the krogan have been, varren infestations have followed, wreaking havoc with the native ecology.

Also they were edible, and while the codex I'd acquired from a merc I'd killed didn't tell me how they tasted, it did advise me to cook them well before consuming their flesh hence the fire pit.

"I am leaving" announced the part Drukhari.

My keen mind deduced that she was bored and was going off to do some more hunting.

"Be back before dinner" I called out.

She didn't reply to that.

(Line Break)

 **Jungle. Zorya.**

From her vantage point up in the trees a dark armoured hunter was observing the three individuals who were currently heading towards the camp she and her fellow hunter had set up.

Two of these intruders were males, and neither of them were human, while the other was female. The female might seem weak, but only if one didn't take into consideration the weapons and armour. Also she didn't move like someone who was weak. She seemed confident in her movements the watcher couldn't help noticing.

One of the males was a turian, she'd killed plenty of those already, they seemed to make up the bulk of the blue and white armoured mercs who more or less ruled this planet, however this turian was no mere merc.

The third one was a massive reptilian alien who was of the same race as a few of the mercs who had been sent after the hunter once the blue and white armoured ones had failed to stop the hunters.

From what the dark armoured hunter knew of that species from previous hunts, they were extremely strong, resilient and generally difficult to kill even by her standards. Which made them worthy prey.

While these three people were armed and armoured, they were not mercs as far as the dark armoured hunter could tell, so they were not to be hunted according to the rules of her clan, yet they were heading for the camp, which made them a threat.

The dark armoured hunter quickly decided that the best thing to do was to warn her clan's leader and let him decide what do about these strangers.

(Line Break)

 **Jungle. Zorya.**

It was days like this that Commander Jane Shepard, Spectre and former Commander in the Systems Alliance Navy, had to wonder what exactly was Cerberus's criteria when it came to scouting out potential recruits.

She'd begun to notice a pattern. Every time she went to recruit someone from the dossiers she was provided with, she and her team ended up having to fight for their lives, whether it be against airborne viruses which only affected aliens, maddened tank born Krogan rejects or mercenaries who were just too greedy for their own good.

So now she wondered if their latest effort to recruit someone else for the team was going to end the same way, she imagined so because the last time she'd been on this planet she'd ended up having to save a bunch of workers from a refinery that had been on the verge of exploding.

After that fiasco at Horizon, the Illusive Man was rather determined to get results which had prompted him to send another set of dossiers. Which included one that was simply labelled as 'The Predator'. When asked about the identity of the Predator, the Illusive Man's reply was short. He knew very little about this killer.

Which was why Shepard had brought along Garrus, someone who was not only a good fighter, but also someone she trusted completely. During his life the turian had faced many threats and his skills often came in handy.

Choosing to bring along Grunt as the third member of her current away team was a no-brainer. If this 'Predator' was as dangerous as the the short dossier suggested then Shepard needed someone equally or even more dangerous. And what could be more dangerous than a tankbred Krogan super soldier like Grunt.

"So is there anything we do know about this guy?" Garrus asked.

Shepard didn't even know that there was actually more than one 'predator' and this was because only one of them had been seen.

"This recruit is a predator in the truest definition of the word, he's been here for weeks hunting Blue Suns, and anyone else they've sent out into the jungle to stop him" Shepard informed her friend "The Blue Suns have even sent in some krogan bounty hunters after him. No one has even gotten a picture of him, a few civilians claim to have seen him kill someone, but apparently he's invisible".

That wasn't all she had to say.

"And he's got some sort of energy weapon" Shepard added "Powerful enough to blow holes right through armour".

Garrus was not happy.

"And WE are supposed to try to recruit this psychotic super hunter now? Someone whom, I might add, is probably equipped with some sort of stealth tech and could be watching us as we speak?" Garrus asked incredulously. "What the hell makes you think he'll even listen to us instead of just blowing us away on sight?"

Shepard was starting to wonder about that.

"The Illusive Man insisted that this 'Predator' could be a useful asset against the Collectors if we can find and convince him to join us" the Spectre said "And its not as if we haven't recruited dangerous people before".

That didn't totally soothe the former C-Sec officer.

"What's wrong Grunt?" the human female wondered.

Shepard had just noticed that the tank bred krogan seemed to be agitated by something.

"Something's watching us" Grunted informed the others.

The krogan was now raising his shotgun.

"He's not supposed to be our enemy Grunt" Shepard pointed out. "He's a potential ally until proven otherwise so no shooting him until then, understand?"

They continued along the jungle trail in search of their recruit and soon came across a clearing. Which was a sight that would forever be burned into their memories.

Here was the hunters camp and within in it were the skulls of a number of Turians, Batarians and Vorcha, which decorated the place along side a few heads from decapitated Krogans. They had to belong to the bounty hunters who'd been sent into the jungle in order to take out the hunter. Clearly they'd failed to do so.

There were also a few makeshift tables in the area with a number of bladed implements on display and the ground was littered with broken armour belonging to mercenaries group that ran this planet. Scattered about were many kinds of weapons, some looked as if they'd been partly taken apart while others seemed to be in good working order.

The whole varren cooking above a fire pit was also somewhat strange but there were things that made sense such as the two tents, and odd bits of equipment that was just lying around like this was some sort of salvage operation.

"And THIS is the guy Cerberus wants us to recruit?" Garrus asked.

Shepard was again having second thoughts about this. Well third thoughts really as she'd noticed the importance of the fact that there were two tents.

"Trophies." Grunt remarked while holding up one of the Turian skulls to study "The spoils of the hunt".

There was some grudging admiration in his voice.

"Trophies? He kills for trophies? The reports did say the recruit was some sort of hunter but for him to do something like this…. Shepard said before trailing off.

She now felt as if they were being watched.

 _"Hello"_ someone greeted.

The three natives of this galaxy all turned to face the source of the voice.

"You're the Predator I assume?" Shepard asked to know as she aimed at the figure that had just appeared "We're just here to talk!"

The tall figure remained silent and seemingly unconcerned with the odds. Its head slowly swivelled from one person to another, as if assessing whom it should attack first, or possibly it was just curious about them. With that mask it was hard to say.

"We're just here to talk" Shepard repeated.

At this point she decided to take a chance and lowered her shotgun. The Predator tilted its head quizzically at Shepard before he lowered his own weapon. Which looked like a rifle to the Spectre, but she'd never seen that model before, although if she had to guess she would say that it seemed to be human made.

"Stand down guys. He's ready to talk" Shepard said.

Both Grunt and Garrus did so, albeit reluctantly.

"My name is Shepard" Jane said next "I'm a Spectre. We were sent her by Cerberus to try and recruit you for our cause. And from what I've seen so far, I can see why" Shepard said without any preamble. "You'd be a great help to our team if you decide to join us against the Collectors"

The Predator stared at her for a moment before replying

 _"No"_

Shepard was surprised by this rather straightforward answer

"We haven't even explained the situation yet" Shepard pointed out "Don't you want to know who the Collectors are, or why we're going after them?".

The Predator shook his head.

 _"No"_

With that the Predator turned around and walked off towards one of the makeshift tables he must have set up. Shepard tried not to think about what was on that table. Hopefully those bones were varren and not from people.

Instead of leaving as would have been wise the Spectre followed the large figure into his camp, and found him sharpening a knife on a whetstone. The more she saw of this person, the more she wondered if there was a human man under that mask.

"So that's it?" Shepard asked "You're just refusing? Is it because of Cerberus? Because if it makes you feel better, you won't be working for Cerberus. You'll be working for me"

The Predator looked up from his work, shook his head and turned his attention back to the knife he was sharpening.

"Let's go Shepard. It's clear that he is not interested" Garrus was now saying. "It would've been a mistake to add someone as unstable as him to the team anyway"

Shepard disagreed. If the Predator was as unstable as Garrus was thinking then someone would've been dead by now.

There was clearly considerable intelligence behind the mask. One that perhaps recognised Cerberus for the xenophobic terrorist organisation that it really was. Also Shepard couldn't help wanting to know why someone would refuse her when no one else had so far, well that wasn't totally true, someone on Horizon had, but they'd at least given some valid reason. Plus Shepard pride had been somewhat stung, people couldn't refuse her and then just walk away.

"Listen. From the looks of all these trophies, you are clearly a hunter of considerable skill." Shepard was now saying "But aren't you getting just a little bit tired of hunting mercs?".

The masked man didn't seem to be paying attention, but he could hardly be failing to hear the Spectre so she carried on.

"These Collectors I'm referring to? Not only are they sport worthy of your skills, but they also work for forces who intend to annihilate life on a galactic scale and robbing you of potential future prey".

Okay so that wasn't totally true, the Reapers only target advanced organic races, but she was only stretching the truth.

 _"No"_

Upon the third refusal Shepard decided to give up. She was encouraged to do so by a large wolf who came out of a nearby tent and start growling.

"Thank you for your time" the Spectre said as she backed off.

She wasn't exactly scared, but she saw no reason to be rude.

(Line Break)

 **Jungle. Zorya.**

"Who were those Mon-Keig?" the human-Dark Eldar hybrid asked.

I waited a moment before answering as I wanted to make sure that Shepard was gone.

"A very dangerous group of people" I told her "And they wanted to recruit me for a frankly suicidal mission".

Oddly I'd not at all been tempted, once I would haven been thrilled at the idea of Commander Shepard wanting me on his or her team, and also confused since I wouldn't have been remotely qualified, but now I had a clan and ship to look after. Besides when you had access to the whole multi-verse the fate of one version of this Mass Effect galaxy, which was just one within many possible time lines, didn't seem very important.

"We should pack up and leave" I said to the part Drukhari "If they know we are here then others will to. Before long we'll have Cerberus breathing down our necks and who knows who else".

Killing Blue Suns meant nothing, they were really nothing more than criminals who had matching uniforms, and they were really bad at fighting, but I didn't want us messing with real soldiers, or the gods help us another Spectre.

"Very well" the semi Drukhari agreed "I will gather our trophies".

Which of course left me to pick up everything else. Good thing I had great stamina and strength.


	22. Chapter 22

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 22**

 **Clan Ship. The Realm of Gothics.**

Currently I was in very large room, it was a sort of living area, not that Yautja ships really had those, but many things about this vessel had been changed. On the outside of the ship there were no noticeable differences, on the inside it was a different story.

These were suppose to my chambers now, but I felt like a stranger in them as the rooms I'd had on the first clan ship I'd stayed on had been much smaller than this. Apparently the Clan Master got the biggest chambers on board.

Even with the modifications there wasn't very much in the way of furniture, so while the people on the Citadel had done a good job of refitting and refurbishing the vessel it still felt somewhat alien. It didn't feel like a home either. Hopefully I'd adapt once it really sunk in that this ship was at least in part my property. It belonged to my clan, and I was its leader.

I was sitting on some sort of cushion in front of a low, metal table. A few feet to my right was a door that led out to the corridor, to my left was a large window that took up almost all of the wall. I doubted it was made of glass, in fact it might just be a huge TV screen that showed me outside. I couldn't be sure because I didn't yet know how extensively the clan ship had been modified.

Regardless if it was screen or a window the view was breathtaking. The ship was currently orbiting the planet that the Citadel had been built upon. Yet I could not see the Citadel from up here. Which made me realise the world must the equal of Earth in terms of size, or at least close.

Looking at the realm from above also gave me an understanding of just how much Planeswalker Gothic had created. He'd made a planet, one that had ice caps, deserts, forests, grasslands, rivers, seas, mountains. It was all there, how much had it all taken to make?

Then there was the space around that world, and the planet's moon. I couldn't see the thing right now, however I knew that it was just like Earth's moon only it didn't have craters, which made sense as this universe ended once you got past the sun and moon so there was no space junk to impact the moon's surface. Plus as I understood the moon was new so even if there had been space junk to strike it there wouldn't have been time for it do so.

Just in the corner of my eye I saw the sun, which is this plane of existence orbited the planet, rather than the other way around, still the amount of light it gave off was impressive, so I didn't look directly at it.

While you could see stars when in the Citadel, there were none in what passed for outer space in this reality. Those stars were in fact solar energy collectors and at night they glowed due to the energy they had collected. Which in my view was very cool.

The sheer scale of this creation was mind boggling. I simply couldn't comprehend how this could be done, I could only imagine the sheer amount of power and knowledge involved. Also I wondered what Planeswalker Gothic must have done to gain that kind of power and knowledge.

After I was done looking I turned away from the window to examine more of the rooms that were now my own. There was a set of ornate double doors behind me, which I knew led to the sleeping area. To the left of the double doors was some sort of trophy display case, it was empty and it closed when I touched the wall to the side of it. There was small pressure pad, barely noticeable in the low light level of the room.

To the right of the display case was a space for armour/weapons storage, I knew this as there was a set of armour on display, My armour, Yautja in make clearly, but modified for humans. As of yet I hadn't found out if anyone within the Citadel could modify my armour or make an improved set. I would have to look into that soon.

If put on the only parts of my body that would exposed to attack would be the parts of my arms between the shoulder pads and the gauntlets, as well everything between the belt and the shin guards.

Under the armour was a layer of something that reminded me of a fishing net. It was mesh material the Yautja used to keep a person's body temperature stable, and it was much tougher than it looked.

The armour was not decorated, nor was a pleasing colour, instead it was all practical. It was a suite of dull metal, only one of the pauldrons really stood out, it was made from the strange metal worn as armour by a race known as the Engineers. I'd killed one of those strange beings, and part of its armour had been reforged as a reminder of that victory. I also had his helmet, but I'd left that on the Yautja station. Maybe I'd have a chance to recover it.

I then saw the mask, this was like the ones worn by the Predators, but it had clearly been altered for human use like the armour had. I even knew the Yautja who had created the mask and the armour. I'd worked for that Predator scientist, who was called the Collector. I wondered if she was still alive.

Next the armour stand was an even larger space for the housing of weapons. I'd lost a lot of my personal armoury due to whatever it was that happened on that Yautja station. But I'd obtained some new weapons when taking this ship. Some of them were on display here. Still I'd need killing tools more suited for humans in the future, and I knew where to get some.

There was one of those plasma weapons that Yautja hunters mounted on their shoulders, that type of weapon I rarely used, preferring the hand held plasma pistol, as I didn't want superheated matter whizzing past my face. I couldn't imagine why anyone would.

Aside from the plasma caster, there was a combistick, another basic weapon of the Yautja. The Combistick was a telescopic spear-like weapon that is about 2–2.5 ft long when closed up and around 6–8 ft long when fully extended.

The metal used to make the weapon was unknown to me but I knew that it could withstand the acid of the Xenomorph species so it had to be tough stuff. This extendible weapon could be used to great effect by me as while it wasn't exactly a spear, it was close enough, and I'd been trained to use it.

By passing through the double doors I made my way into what I guessed the bedroom area, and this proved to be correct. Like the main room, it was pretty bare, there was a basic but large bed, and that was about it. My guess was that if there were any wardrobes or other space for personal effects they were built into the wall. The Yautja seemed dislike clutter and whoever had done the refit hadn't tried to alter the layout too much. It was also possible that they'd wanted to leave me with as many options for customisation as possible.

When I got inside my bedroom I found Amelie, an asari refugee who'd had a very short career as a stripper before becoming my servant, was looking at a piece of clothing with an unhappy expression on her face.

"Is there something the matter?" I asked.

There clearly was something wrong here.

"Its see-through" she complained.

Well it was, sort of, but it came with an undergarment that would cover more than if she went to the beach, and she'd been a stripper. In fact right now she was naked, and was making no attempt to cover herself. The only clothing she'd even worn since we'd met was a pair of panties.

"It's not as if you covered up the rest of the time" I pointed out "Besides its not optional. You are a servant, so you'll dress the part or be fired".

Like many young asari she wanted to travel for a while before settling down somewhere, and she had to pay for passage by working. As for actually seeing other worlds, there were places we could go were the crew could have some sort of shore leave. I wouldn't mind visiting Babylon 5 again. And thinking about that made me realise that the serving girls 'uniforms' would draw a lot of attention even in the more welcoming of places. Not that this was my concern, once we had a larger crew I'd have someone to take care of these matters for me.

"Besides you're my servant" I reminded her "You don't want to make me look bad"

Rather than punish her the old fashioned way I'd just dump her off somewhere if she annoyed me, and she knew that I could do so easily. Not that I'd leave her anywhere dangerous.

I got the impression that she didn't want to go back to stripping in a bar, and nor did she want to be abandoned somewhere.

"Fine, I'll wear the outfit" Amelie said "Even a collar if it will make you happy".

As it turned out there was a wardrobe in the wall, and it contained a spiked collar for the asari to wear. Which she did, but only while sulking. She was actually decades older than me, but asari took a long time to mature.

I also discovered had a hidden wardrobe in here for the times when I wished to wear more casual clothing, like now.

"Amelie I want to exchange my plasma caster for a netgun" I told my serving girl "Go down to the ship's armoury and get me one".

The Netgun was Yautja weapon that fired a wire net at great velocity and with great force, to trap and ensnare prey. Once fired, the net would tighten around its trapped target with sufficient force to cause the wire mesh to cut into the victim. I killed whatever was caught in the net quickly once they were trapped as I was a hunter not a torturer.

"Is this ship going to be like the Citadel?" Amelie asked as she headed for the door "As in run by total perverts?".

I nodded.

"Yes it is" I answered "Because its run by me".

She frowned, and I laughed.

"If it helps I do plan to pay you very well" I said to the blue skinned alien "Once you're ready to settle down you'll be very well off, but only if you work hard for me".

That cheered her up.

(Line Break)

 **Clan Ship. Realm of Gothics**

A short time later I entered the bridge. Unlike human built vessels this command centre was not at the front of the craft, but deep within. Clever as it meant even if the hull of the ship was broken open the bridge wouldn't be exposed to space, and it would still be quite safe if they could seal off a deck that was exposed to space with say force fields or some sort of bulkhead. I'd have to ask about that.

Quickly I examined the bridge. It was a dark space lit only by the the massive view screen, which showed a starless universe, and the lights of the workstations were an all female crew, who all worked for Sparky Gothic, did whatever it was they did. My clan had plans for obtaining a crew, but for now Sparky Gothic and his people were running the ship while its new systems were tested. Which was wise as while Yautja technology was easy to use it was still alien tech and as such their might be compatibility issues with whatever tech they'd used at the Citadel to upgrade the ship.

My place on the bridge was a seat that I could still only think of as a command throne. It was an impressive chair, elevated above the ground so as to give whoever at in it a clear view of the crew as they worked. This would also serve as a reminder of who was in charge.

Sticking out of the top of the command throne were spikes, and on each spike was at least one skull that seemed to have been coated in a silvery metal, and their eye sockets had been filled with gemstones. Each of these skulls were from my most recent hunting trip in the Mass Effect Verse and my Clan's hybrid Dark Elf was clearly showing off her skills in how she'd prepared for display.

She'd told me that she wanted to be the one to take care of preparing the trophies the clan wanted to put on display, and since I was pleased by her work so far I decide that I would make her the trophy master, or trophy mistress in this case, and let her look after the spoils of our hunts, at least the ones put on public display. Trophies kept in our chambers or on our person were a different matter, although I might let the Dark Elder, who still hadn't picked a proper name, work on some of them.

Moving I sat down in my chair, and wondered if it would ruin the image if I got a cushion for the command throne, or maybe had it padded. Best not as I was sure that sitting on it while wearing my armour and having the skulls on spikes, made me look super awesome.

I was about to speak when an animal seemed to appear out of the shadows, I actually needed a moment to recall that one of the Council of Gothics had made me a special companion, someone who could hunt at my side. She was so stealthy that sometimes I forgot she even existed.

The Direwolf transformed into a human girl, who was wearing a layer of that fish net material, and clearly nothing underneath it. Some version of this outfit, if it could be called that, did have a layer of satin like material which covered up certain parts of the female body, her version did not. But she spent most of her time in her animal form so she was used to being naked.

She was a creature of magic, and I was not. In fact I'd been tested for that talent and to my lack of surprise I had no magical abilities at all. However that didn't stop me from using magic as a resource.

I'd always suspected that magic was a real thing, so I'd adapted to its existence quickly. I even wore a couple of enchanted rings meant to enhance my fighting skills (archery and swordsmanship) as well as an amulet which had been a gift from Planeswalker Gothic. Apparently it would somehow make me a much better fighter.

This might not seem fair as I was supposed to be an honourable hunter, however I felt justified in using these items since there were so many things out there that totally outclassed me in a fight.

"Father" greeted the wolfgirl.

She'd once been a direwolf pup, until the magical ritual which had transformed her. The ritual involved in transforming her into the magical creature she now was had required some of my blood, and life force, in order make her what she now was. So her calling me 'Father' wasn't so wrong, even if it felt strange.

"Lupa" I greeted back.

This was when someone came close to my seat.

"Before we head out you should check the final draft for the hunting rules we all agreed on" advised the Pureblood Sith, who seemed to be happy helping to organise things "I downloaded them to your data pad".

I did as he wished, using a data pad I'd been given upon joining the Citadel, it was linked to the Citadel's computer systems, and I found the agreed upon rules were pretty simple. No killing unarmed humanoids, children, pregnant women or the ill. No killing other hunters. No stealing of trophies. Only take trophies from prey that were worthy. If you get your ass kicked but are shown mercy, or someone saves your life then give over a weapon. Blow yourself up rather than be captured so that people don't get our advanced tech. Mostly what I had expected, and this was because I'd written the first draft for the rules, and they were based on Yautja rules that we were all used to.

Since I had no intention of hunting humans, unless they were dyed in the wool evil, or at least total scum bags. As such I might be limited on what I could hunt some of the time, but so far I'd not had any trouble finding targets.

"The ship is ready to fly" Sparky Gothic reported.

This other version of myself was wearing what seemed to be a modified suit of power armour, a model used by the Brotherhood of Steel, including the helmet. Which made wonder if he was expecting trouble. The plasma rifle and pistol he carried seemed to support that.

"We'll need a lot of salvage to pay for the best slaves" the red skinned alien reminded me "And then we'll need to pay again for knowledge of how to fly and maintain this ship to be uploaded in their minds. Oh and we'll need even more salvage to actually pay the slaves once we've turned them into servants".

Yes that wasn't going to be cheap. Plus we needed to stock up on weapons, and some other basic equipment. Thankfully I had an idea on where to go in order to do just that.

(Line Break)

 **Abandoned USCM Ship. AVP Universe.**

I'd made salvage runs to this ship a number of times, sometimes alone, sometimes not, yet I'd not made a dent in the sheer mountain of stuff that could looted from this vessel. In the past I'd focused on weapons, and while I was doing that again there was still more than one armoury to empty.

This time I'd boarded the front section of the battleship that had been blown into two chunks. Which I had done the last time, however unlike that time it wasn't Sarah with me it was Alice.

"Hmm bad news" I said "While looking at a monitor. If I'm reading this right then what remains of this ship is caught in a star's gravity well, it's going to drift close enough to be burned up".

Alice leaned in closer and I couldn't help feeling pleasantly warmer when she did. My new asari bed warmer and serving girl was sexy, but there was something about Alice I found appealing. Maybe something in her scent that was subtly effecting me, something only a human women could produce. Or maybe it was because we'd both been transfused with Yautja blood, that did give us a connection.

"How long have we got?" she asked.

While Colonial Marine tech was centuries ahead of what I was used to humans having they still used QWERTY keyboards, computers with simple operating systems, and visual displays.

"80 to 90 years" I answered after a while "The navigation computer can't be sure since it doesn't know what's in the system the remains of this ship are heading into. Other gravity wells can alter the course of the wreckage, and there's even a small chance that the ship parts will crash on a planet or moon, or whatever".

Most things that moved through space did so really slowly, so there was no reason to worry about this now.

"Less than a century" Alice said "Well then we best hurry".

Despite her words we didn't rush to the nearest armoury. Instead we took out time, looking around for anything of value, alas there wasn't much. The computers on this vessel were pretty primitive.

This didn't mean that everything on board had no value to use or others. As soon as we got the armoury I began filling my new backpack, which was bigger on the inside than on the out, and boy did that take some getting used to. Magic was so awesome.

The M314 Motion Tracker, also known as the Motion Scanner, was a simple motion-detecting surveillance device. Essentially, it was a high-powered ultrasound scanner that used doppler-shift discrimination to filter out moving objects from the stationary background, and then displayed them on the M314's monitor.

There were a few problems with this design. For starters the devices were active sensors, emitting thousands of high-energy ultrasound bursts every second, and could therefore be easily detected by anyone with their own sophisticated scanners. Plus it couldn't tell friend from foe. Also xdenomorphs had a habit of lying in habit remaining motionless until you were very close to them. Still I'd found the device useful in the past and planned to keep carrying one.

Next up was the The ME3 Hand Welder, known more colloquially as the Cutting Torch, it was a compact, hand held welding torch primarily used by the United States Colonial Marine Corps for cutting and welding whilst in the field. I could probably get a better cutting tool at the Citadel, but the Colonial Marine tech had a rustic certain charm about it, and it was always easy to use.

An example of this was the ComTech Hacking Device, a piece of equipment manufactured by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation for use by the Colonial Marines. This hacking device was used by Marines to gain access to certain restricted areas whenever discretion is required, such as investigations into illegal activities, or when they are lacking explosives necessary to breach a door. So far I'd not had much use for this device, but it was small enough to carry on my person and didn't weigh much.

Before moving on to the weapons I'd picked up a pair of infrared binoculars totally pointless for me to own since I had my mask, but they might be worth a little in trade somewhere in the multi-verse.

The first weapon I took was a 88 Mod 4 combat pistol, which was semi-automatic and came with 18-round detachable box magazine. According to its manual the gun could be modified with a laser sight and an extended magazine. I took one as a side arm as I'd used the weapon before.

Soon I was loading my bag with all sorts of goodies, including B15 Fragmentation Grenades, G2 Electroshock Grenades, M92 Grenade Launcher, VP78 Pistol, MP9 Submachine Gun, M37A2 Pump Shotgun, M20 Claymore Mines, a M260B Flamethrower, and others.

"I've never used one of those" I said to Alice and she picked up a strange looking gun, one I had to check the manual for details "Its an auto-targeting heavy machine gun, its got a 500-round detachable drum magazine its fully automatic and fires a four-round burst".

Alice spent a moment admiring the weapon.

"Why haven't you ever used one of these?" she asked.

She was smart to ask.

"Because using a smart gun like this requires special equipment, including a harness and an eye piece" I answered "Which we can't use with our masks".

Sure neither of us were wearing our masks right now, however during a hunt we would.

"My personal preference is the M41A Pulse Rifle MK2" I told Alice "Now the MK2 has a lower ammo capacity than previous models, but offers significantly increased stopping power. Which is important if you're going up against things like Yautja, Xenomorphs or anyone with decent body armour. It also comes with am inbuilt grenade launcher. Also you can add a suppressor for when on the hunt, and it even has a laser targeting system".

Alice gave me a smile that suggested flirting.

"Are you trying to turn me on?" she asked.

That hadn't been my intention.

"Nah if I wanted to turn you on I'd show you this" I said after putting the pulse rifle in my bag and reaching for another weapon "This is the M90 Minigun".

I went on to explain that the M90 has a capacity of 900 rounds, all loaded in a single, continuous belt, which fired in bursts of 3 rounds. The entire 900-round belt could be emptied in significantly less than one minute. The weapon had three barrels, and is exceedingly heavy, slowing the user down while the weapon is readied. It fired armor-piercing rounds at an extremely high rate of fire, making it effective against small, fast-moving, hard-to-hit targets as well as durable, armored targets that smaller weapons may be ineffective against.

The M90 Minigun had two modes of fire. The standard mode of fire requires the operator to hold the trigger down until the barrels spool up to speed. This increased the time required to engage a target, and may have lethal consequences in high-threat, close quarters environments. The second fire mode keeps the barrels spooled, meaning the weapon is ready to fire instantaneously. The effects of this is quite noisy and can alert nearby enemies to the presence of a minigunner.

"Now does that turn you on?" I finished by saying.

Her smile let me know that it did. Perhaps I'd get another chance to get her to yell out 'multi-pass' in the near future.

(Line Break)

 **Clan Ship. AVP Universe.**

As a rule Yautja ship weren't equipped with view screens, there was little point when the bridge saw in the world of heat rather than light, but that had changed with the refit as now all the crew, such as it was, saw in what we humans call 'the visible light spectrum' therefore we now had 2D screens as well as 3D holographic displays.

What I was currently looking at didn't appear any less worrying no matter which format I used to view it upon. The Yautja station, which had acted as a port for all us non-Yautja was still there, and it was mostly intact, mostly.

Judging by the sheer amount of wrecked clan ship floating about the station, there had been a fierce battle here. And I didn't think it had been one sided either as some of the dead clan ships were in formation while the rest had were not so organised. Which suggested that the attackers had taken many losses as well.

"We must have been on board when the attacked happened" I mused "The attackers must have been made of bad bloods and the clans who sided with them".

Assuming there were only two factions, things could have changed, and it seemed likely they had given the scale of this attack. I knew that Yautja civilization had gone through some changes recently, like taking on more non-Yautja as hunters, and I couldn't imagine that this had been a popular choice. With bad bloods someone learning to control a type of xenomorph, that would have shifted the balance of power. Plus I remembered something from that meeting on the Yautja home world. Something about Berserkers.

"Given what I know of the Predators I didn't think their civil war would be fought like this" I said mostly to myself "I suspected they'd fight with one clan hunting down and destroying another, not this".

Clearly they had changed, or more likely I'd never understood them at all.

"Me neither" agreed Sarah Connor "This is crazy".

That did sum it up rather nicely.

"Well we wanted to know what happened" said Project Alice "Now we know we weren't betrayed. Looks like we got taken during an attack, but why can't we remember it?".

There could be many reasons.

"We can't rule out that they transported us off the station with some sort of beaming tech and then knocked us out with drugs that caused damage to our short term memories" I reasoned "Or they could have used some sort of gas weapon".

And that was assuming some sort of funky alien tech that I couldn't even imagine wasn't the cause. The Yautja had some odd weapons, such as they cutting wire mines as I'd once used, perhaps they had means of knocking people I simply didn't know about.

"At least we know we weren't betrayed by our clans" I was now saying "But it doesn't really change much. I don't want to give up this ship, and we have our clan now".

Everyone nodded, aside from Sparky Gothic who suggested something that made me wonder just how crazy all versions of me could be.

(Line Break)

 **Yautja Station. AVP Universe.**

"For the record this is still a bad idea" I muttered.

Despite my objections Sparky Gothic, who was still on board the ship while it underwent its shakedown cruise, had convinced my Clan to return to the Yautja Station to find out what state it was in. Oddly even I'd agreed, after some convincing.

It was as if Sparky Gothic had some ability to make people think his ideas were good ones, and to be fair he'd been right so far, now that we knew that the station was damaged and abandoned, but not destroyed there was a chance for rich salvage. The kind of tech we could recover from this place would easily pay for a new crew and more.

Plus it was a chance to recover the trophies and the weapons I'd left in chambers on the station. Which included my Engineer's helmet, as well as some cool skulls. I also had a few weapons stashed her, but they Colonial Marine guns, which I'd already replaced.

Alas my scout ship had either been taken or destroyed. I knew this as I hadn't been able to call for it using my wrist device, which meant that some of my trophies and weapons, including my Wraith stunner, were lost forever.

Still there were other scout ships we could recover by docking them with the clan ship and then taking them back to the Citadel for refitting and repairs. It would be good for all the hunters in my clan to have access to a scout ship as then they wouldn't always need our Clan Ship to ferry them around.

Last of all there was a chance we'd find survivors, but I wasn't too hopefully about as we'd run a life signs scan and found nothing, however people in hypersleep didn't show up on life sign scans so if anyone was here waiting for rescue we'd have to find their pod and wake then up, and we would only do that if they weren't Yautja. I didn't want any Predators in my Clan, as they'd never accept a human as a Clan Leader.

My concern over boarding this station turned out to be justified as we learned an interesting fact, xenomorphs who are hibernating don't show up on scans for life form.

Not long after entering the station we came under attack from the domesticated xenomorphs, only unlike those that had been bred from a canine animal, these had clearly come bursting out of human chests.

Thankfully unlike the normal kind of xenomorph these creatures did not attack using stealth, or any kind of cunning, something compelled them to simply charge at us without even attempting to use any sort of tactic more complex than that of Zerg rush.

Which really wasn't effective when you had a group of people who didn't panic and were all armed with advanced weapons, we gunned down the horrific creatures before they could get in too close, and once it was done we soon realised that these xenomorphs were inferior in other ways to the real thing.

"Their blood isn't dissolving the deck" Sarah said.

"They went down way to easy" Alice commented.

Yes they, and while it possible that this was all of them I suspected there more deeper inside the station and that they had a handler of sorts. Heck there could even be a queen, who been modified to produce the eggs which then led to these inferior xenomorphs coming into existence.

"Fuck let's go back to the ship and nuke the station" I decided "We can salvage weapons from the other clan ships".

Everyone agreed that this was a good idea and soon we left. This station had one meant something to all of us, but it wasn't our home. We had our own ship now, and the Citadel could be our new port.


	23. Chapter 23

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 23**

 **Clanship. AVP Universe.**

While the station had proved to be too dangerous to salvage from the derelict Yautja ships were another matter. There were more than a dozen heavily damaged vessels here, and each contained a wealth of technology, and not just in terms of advanced weapons such as plasma casters.

Yautja metallurgy was very advanced, they had metals which could withstand the acidic blood of a xenomorph, as such they were in possession of armour much tougher than what I was currently wearing. I desired a bet set of armour, and while there were people in the Citadel who could improve my armour I didn't want to rely too much on them.

However I didn't have the means to supply my clan's needs so I needed the Citadel for everything, at least for now, and since they didn't do things for free I needed stuff to trade, such as alien tech. Plus there was stuff that the Citadel didn't sell, such as people, my clan needed more servants and they didn't come cheap.

There was a risk to coming here, other clans might come to salvage or to investigate, as such we had to move quickly and grab what we could now, as it was unlikely that we'd able to loot these wrecks again. As such we were grabbing some scout ships as well, which could later be modified and upgraded.

Because we might need to leave in a hurry, and because we could end up in a fight, I was staying on the clan ship. This meant I needed to trust my fellow hunters, and to hope they would be able to grab what we needed as quickly as possible.

If all went well the rest of the clan would return with many weapons, some bits of armour and other stuff of value. Meanwhile all I could do was sit here and wait for something to happen, I wondered who had the harder job.

(Line Break)

 **Clan Ship. Outer Rim of the KOTOR Galaxy.**

While I wasn't impressed by the view, others did seem to enjoy the sight on the view screen.

"Is there really a city on that floating rock?" asked a bewildered Rayne "how did they build something like this on a rock in space? How do they breathe?".

This smugglers' den, was according to Trost, the Pureblood Sith privateer who was now a hunter in my Clan, the best place to go if you had exotic goods to sell and illegal things to buy, with little to no questions asked. Which was one valid reason for us coming here.

The second reason for choosing this place, besides the fact that it was far from any authorises, was the simple fact that it was apparently one of the largest hubs for the slave trade in this sector of the Outer Rim. Which was good as we needed slaves, and not just any slaves would do we needed people use to using advanced tech.

This was because we didn't intend to keep them as slaves, but rather to employ them as skilled servants who would fly the ship, maintain its systems, and do all the other jobs that needed doing. Sure slaves might be able to do that, however the Citadel of Gothic was very anti-slavery, and besides paid and happy workers tend to be more productive in most cases. Plus people with jobs and a place to live rarely ran away or staged revolts.

"The colony itself is encased in a dome" Trost explained as Sparky Gothic's people brought the ship into dock "The inside of which has been terraformed just enough so it has a somewhat self-sustaining ecosystem".

That explanation didn't great help Rayne, but she was a woman who'd hunted vampires across the centuries, during her lifetime human technology had changed greatly, so I was sure that given more time she'd adapt to the whole outer space thing.

While I'd not spoke to Rayne much, I did know a little about how she'd ended up in my clan. Much like Alice the Predators had gotten involved in fighting the undead, only it was vampires in this case rather than zombies. Her world had been overrun by bloodsuckers so she'd had little choice but to leave.

"I take it we've arrived" I heard Alice say as she entered the bridge.

There had been a jolting as the ship docked.

"What was your first clue?" Sarah asked.

To be fair the docking bay was on the view screen at this point.

"Now listen carefully" Trost, whose two women always stayed close to him "I've been to several smuggler dens like this one in my time. And trust me, even the best are nothing more than breeding grounds for scum, so I'll be going in with just Gothic".

Of course that started off a wave of protest, well it was a very small wave.

"This is not up for debate" he said harshly, before calming his voice "This place is dangerous. I know you're hunters too, but you've never dealt with crooks like this. Besides the less of us who go the better. We'll go out there. Make a deal, and you ladies can take a trip to the slave market later on, if you so badly want a pleasure slave".

This was agreed upon, and I amused by the exchange because for once it wasn't me trying to sort things out. The Sith was in charge of this matter because I'd made him the crew master, meaning that acquiring crew and ensuring they were trained were his jobs. He'd once run his own ship and gang before being brought into a Predator clan, so I trusted him to handle such matters. Well as much as I trusted any of them.

"Good," Trost said, before turning his own servants "Aela go get the smaller crate of salvage I put aside. We'll put out some feelers today and go after a big score tomorrow once we have the right people's attention. And get the blasters too. If we're going to be playing the role of pirates then we at least need to look the part"

I'd never actually acted in the role of pirate. Hopefully I could pull it off.

(Line Break)

 **Smuggler's Hideout. Outer Rim of the KOTOR Galaxy.**

After stepping out of the airlock of the docking cradle and into the trade centre for not so legal goods, I was greeted immediately by the sight of a busy commerce site. Hundreds of individuals of nearly a dozen different species were darting back and forth through the busy street while vendors lined either side peddling everything from ship parts, to blasters, to clothes and even slaves.

 _"Good day travelers!" a_ rodian said in what must be Huttese as he approached us _. "My name is Gian and I welcome you. This outpost is owned and operated by none other than Nemo the Hutt himself!"_

I just pretended to understand. Thankfully Trost did understand. Although I did pick out the words 'hutt' and 'nemo' which could the hutt's name.

"And your point?" the Pureblood Sith asked.

The rodian began scratching under his chin as his two human bodyguards came up on either side of him.

" _Nemo requires a toll to be paid on all docked ships. One hundred credits a day. And you must register what your cargo is and it's worth"_

Without warning Trost shot the two human men, who'd I'd assumed to be bodyguards, they dropped dead, and barely anyone reacted.

"Now that wasn't very smart rodian" Trost was now saying "I could've believed the whole part about a toll. But wanting to know what I'm carrying? That's something that only the core worlds would care about. Not this outpost. You got greedy rodian. And it's going to cost you".

With that he put a hole through the center of the rodian's head. Then he started walking away so I followed.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked as we watched the residents descend on the corpses like a flock of vultures "You could have just stunned them".

We were suppose to be hunters, not cold blooded killers, although there was a fine line between the two at times.

"You really haven't been to many places like this have you, boss" Trost said as he chuckled. "You don't want to appear weak in a place like this. And as you can see, no one is even the least bit bothered by a few sudden death in the middle of a crowded street. Besides its not like your hands are clean of blood. How many nerf headers have you killed?".

I guessed that to be a rhetorical question.

"Alright, you made your point" I said.

After walking for just a few minutes we came to a stop before a blue skinned male twi'lek who had a number of handheld weapons on display. I was almost certain that these were just display pieces, that didn't work, and that the real trades would happen elsewhere, however I had no desire to test that.

Like many other of the stalls the signs were mostly in what I fairly certain was Huttese, only a few were in Basic which was just like English verbally, but it had a different looking alphabet, so I couldn't read any of the signs.

 _"How can I be of service?"_

Stepping up to the table, Trost smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile.

"I'm looking to sell some recently acquired wares." the Sith answered in a way I could understand "And I believe that you are the man to talk to".

Either people here had some version of Star Trek's universal translator, or they all understood Basic and simply chose not to speak it.

" _Perhaps I can be of service"_

Stepping forward, Aela, Trost's Twi'lek woman, opened the small crate that she'd been carrying under her arm

"I'm sure that we can come to some sort of an agreement" Trost said next.

While peering over the lid of the small crate, the twi'lek nearly drooled at the sight of all the normally shoulder mounted Yautja plasma casters, which no one in my clan had much use for. I imagined the exotic weapons like this would fetch a pretty price, and if the Predators could track down these salvaged weapons, well I didn't care if some arms dealers got made into trophies.

 _"Yes…quite the collection"_

I couldn't understand what the alien merchant was saying, however he looked eager to acquire our merchandise.

"You don't have to worry about anything" Trost assured the alien "The previous owners won't be coming and looking for them".

Well they were all dead.

" _They are fine pieces. But I might have trouble moving them. So I'll give you one thousand for all of them"_

Trost turned to his blue babe.

"Put them away Aela. That price is an insult" he said.

 _"Wait! We can negotiate"_

"I don't know what there is to negotiate" Trost said flatly "I'd accept nothing less than ten thousand. So unless you're willing to offer a lot more we have nothing further to discuss".

While I was only getting half of this conversation I was able to understand what they were talking about.

"And I have a two crates three times the size of this small case, all full of pieces just like these" Trost went on to say "I'm willing to make a deal with you. You give me five thousand and I'll let you take the case. You then put us in touch with a buyer that would be willing to pay full price for all our pieces".

" _Five thousand is all I have…will you take four?"_

"Five thousand" I heard Trost insist "Otherwise we walk. You have ten seconds to make up your mind. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Fi-"

The alien soon gave in.

"We'll be back in one cycle and you can take us to your buyer" Trost then said.

Nodding, the twi'lek ducked back into the building behind him for a few minutes. When he came back out he was holding small container roughly the size of a briefcase. I guessed it served a similar function.

" _Five thousand credits, as promised"_

The alien said that while reluctantly handing the case over. Trost immediately grabbed the case and opened. Inside were what I guessed to be credit chips, they looked worthless to me, but in reality all money was worth nothing really, something could only be used as money because everyone agreed that was money.

"It's all there" Trost said, before turning the weapon's dealer "We'll be back within one cycle and you can take us to your buyer"

With our business concluded, Trost led me and his two companions through the marketplace and back onto our ship. As they walked I saw that most of the pedallers were working fast in order to try and close up their shops.

I didn't get the sense of any danger coming so I could only assume that the time for selling stuff was over. Perhaps local night was now on its way, if so this place could become rather rough once it got dark, and given how shifty it looked right now, that was a scary thought, even for me.

(Line Break)

 **Smuggler's Hideout. Outer Rim of the KOTOR Galaxy.**

The interior of Nemo the Hutt's lair, honestly it could hardly be called anything else, was dark, loud and filled with oddly coloured smoke. I was so glad that I was wearing my mask. If I hadn't been I was sure I'd already be high from the sheer amount of second hand smoke in here.

In true Hutt fashion, Nemo himself, or maybe herself, was lounging on a large dais so that he/she/it could look down on the three dozen or so sitting occupants while a dozen barely dressed females of different races danced around poles and on tables. An almost naked twi'lek slave girl sat on the dais with the hutt.

But at the moment none of the three dozen occupants or even the large Hutt himself, herself or itself, were even paying attention to the dancers, as all of their attention was focused solely on the large metal grate in the centre of the room.

Below a blood drenched slaughter was taking place, already several people had been killed, and those left, a human male and female twi'lek, both of whom were wearing slave collars, were running around the cavern as they desperately tried to avoid a larger predatory animal that was prowling around the space beneath our feet. It wasn't a rancor, this was some sort of mammal, but it was no less dangerous.

No wait, I'd been wrong, now that I'd spotted the crude hologram which was projecting what was going on below onto the table tops, I realised that there was a fully clothed and armed gamorrean down there as well, more than likely a guard that had fallen in the pit. It was running along with the two unfortunate slaves. But judging by the pools of blood and freshly torn limbs laying around the pit they weren't going to last for long.

"No honour in this" I muttered.

Even the Romans armed their slaves when sending them in die in an area. Where was the sport in this?

My Clan's Dark Eldar, who had insisted on coming along, did not seem entertained, and her really enjoyed blood sports, perhaps this was too crude for a race with such a refined taste in sadism.

Around us the crowd roared as the human pushed the twi'lek right into the jaws of the massive predator before running in the opposite direction. The alien girl managed to get one scream out before the massive creature clamped its jaws down and ended her.

Soon enough it ended for all of them as the creature, which seemed to be much faster and much more bloodthirsty than a rancor, finished of the remaining slave and the pig alien.

" _That concludes this evening's entertainment!"_ The Hutt was now yelling from the dais _. "Slaves! Start the music up! Dancers get moving lest you become part of tomorrow's entertainment!"_

Instantly music started playing, and the dancers began dancing. I paid little attention to their gyrations as I had a former asari stripper waiting for me back on the ship who'd give me a private dance if I so ordered it.

" _Come_ " said the twi'lek we'd met with yesterday.

He was urging us forward. So I guessed he wanted us to follow him. Which we did, and he led us to the dais the Hutt rested upon. I reminded myself again to get some sort of universal translator installed in my mask.

 _"Great Nemo"_ said the Twi'lek arms dealer as he grovelled, bowing low enough so that his forehead was almost touching the floor _. "As I promised I have brought to you the ones selling the exotic weapons I showed to you"._

Suddenly all the frolics stopped, and everyone's attention was on us. _  
_

 _"I can see them fool!"  
_

For some reason the alien grovelling was not well received.

"We are here for trade. Nothing more. Nothing less" Trost said.

The large Hutt rubbed at his chin before shrugging.

" _Hmm. very well. Show me what you have and I will decide whether or not we can do business"._

After motioning to his women, they brought forth the crates filled with Yautja weapons. Nemo looked mildly taken aback at what was inside. I had no doubt that he was thinking of keeping a few pieces for himself, while selling the rest to collectors.

 _"Hmm…most interesting. Where did you find these?"_

"Only a fool would reveal the source of such fine goods" Trost said before getting on with matters "We want twenty thousand for them".

Nemo grunted something before nodding towards one of his gamorrean guards. The pig faced creature stepped forward and picked up one piece from each chest at random before running a scanner over it. Once the scan was completed the gamorrean turned back to the Hutt and squealed something.

"Now where is our payment?" Trost asked.

Nemo just started laughing, along with most of the hall

 _"Hahaha…you have brought me such fine items…why should I pay you for your gift?"_

I got the sense that things might not go so well. Which why I'd brought Mongrol Bitch (she still hadn't chosen a new name) along with us. I was fairly certain she could slaughter everyone in this lair in short order.

"You should pay me because only we can bring you more of these treasures" Trost was now saying "These are just samples of what I can acquire".

 _"I will pay you fifteen thousand credits"_

From what I gathered Trost had just accepted a deal. Immediately the music started up once more, and the dancer's resumed their dances.

"Let's sit down" said the Pureblood Sith "This will take a little while".

As soon as the five of us sat down a human slave girl immediately gave each of us a drink that was smoking slightly before quickly moving away.

"Is…is the rest of this galaxy like this? the Dark Eldar asked.

I couldn't be sure if she approved or not as like me her facial expression was hidden by her helmet, which also distorted her voice.

"Not all places are like this. The Hutts are crime lords" I answered "And this is the frontier of civilization".

"What of this Nemo creature" the Dark Eldar asked next "Can it be trusted".

For some reason I found the fact that a Hutt was called Nemo to be a little amusing, and I didn't know why.

"There are two things that you can count on from a Hut" Trost said "And those are that a deal is a deal and a bet is a bet. They might try to swindle you as much as possible, but once the terms are set they will live and die by them. And as for the drinks…well pretend like you're drinking but don't actually drink them".

Before more could be spoken about, a human guard came over to use half dragging a red skinned Twi'lek lady.

"Mighty Nemo regrets that he only has 14 thousand credits, and hopes you will take this slave in place of the missing credits" the human said.

Not knowing what else to do I just nodded, and the half naked, red skinned Twi'lek woman was practically thrown at me. I somehow ended up with a chain in my hand, and scared women on her knees before me.

"Not so surprising" commented Trost "She's properly worth more than a thousand credits, he must really like Yautja weapons".

Well who didn't.

"Guess it would be rude to say no" I said.

I'd talk to the alien woman once I got back to the ship and offer her a job, or just let her lose on the Citadel and she could go wherever those asari were being sent.


	24. Chapter 24

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 24**

 **Training Room. Citadel of Gothic.**

While I didn't want to rely on other versions of myself for everything, and I was working on making my clan more independent, I wasn't foolish enough not to take advantage of this place's resources.

This training room was a resource of sorts to be exploited, it was a kind of holodeck, and as such could create environments and objects that I could interact with safely. Since it was safe I was taking a chance by trying to train myself with Yautja weapons I'd been able to salvage, but until now I'd had no experience using this one.

One of those weapons was the Smart Disc. Computer-controlled gyros guaranteed that the Smart Disc returned to its wielder when thrown, and it also give the weapon a degree of auto-guidance, allowing it to alter its course in mid-air and follow a moving target if necessary.

Smart Discs were capable of automatically tracking a target using their body heat and they could be manually directed in flight using the targeting laser built into the Predator's Bio-Mask. However I was having trouble controlling the disc, but that was why I practiced.

The Smart Disc's devastating razor edges were capable of cutting through most substances with ease. In the second Predator move a Smart Disc was able to cut through half a dozen cattle carcasses and a man in quick succession without any effort. However, in the event that the Disc becomes embedded in a solid material, it would have to be pulled out, which I had discovered for myself.

Some models of the Smart Discs, such as the one I was trying to become an expert in, could shrink in size (usually by telescoping shut in one direction) when not in use, for ease of storage and carrying.

I remembered being told by my Yautja mentor, that elite hunters known as Disc Masters, were known to have a degree of mental control over the Smart Disc and were able to redirect it simply using their mind, although such a skill takes years to master, and of course their masks had to be fitted with some sort of technology that allowed for such control. Even for the Predators that was very advanced tech that only the most successful of clans could acquire.

An alarm went off, signalling that my time was up, and this was okay with me as I was making progress, but further training would have to wait, my clan would soon be off on another hunt for trophies and alien tech. I was looking forward to it.

(Line Break)

 **Clanship. Halo Verse.**

As I sat upon my command throne I looked down at the new crew, who were mostly human females, and was pleased by what I saw, and not just because I was a lucky bastard who was surrounded by pleasing to look at women made up of a few different races, but also because they were a good crew who knew what they were doing. Which left me free to sit back in my big fancy chair and relax while other people did all the work. This must be what it is like to be a member of the upper classes.

Currently the Clanship was in the Halo verse, a galaxy that the Yautja had somewhat scouted out, I'd decided to check out some of the scouted worlds in the hopes of acquiring some the local tech.

So far however we hadn't much look, and we were taking our time in scouting out locations as we wished to avoid the Flood at all costs. It wouldn't do to let the Flood get their hands on this ship, if they did they would spread. I'd destroy this vessel in order to prevent that.

I leaned down to my right so that I could stroke behind the ears of Lupa, my direwolf who could take a human form when she wished. Most of the time she remained her canine form and didn't do much. Like me she seemed to enjoy a good session of lazing about. Not that I got much chance to do this since I became part Yautja. The Predator part of me didn't like it when I sat around not doing anything.

There was no one sitting on the other side of my throne, and I considered having some pretty girl chained to it, but my clan and I had gone to a lot of trouble to turn slaves into proper servants. Chaining someone up would be a step in the wrong direction.

"Master!" one of the crew called out "There are other ships in this system, they are orbiting around one of the planets, a world that was scouted out before. Its suppose to be a human colony, but those aren't human ships".

Using the controls built into my command throne I brought up a small holographic display of the planet as well as the ships orbiting it. Those were Covenant vessels. And according to the scans there were no other ships around so it seemed as the UNSC wasn't putting up a fight to defend this world. Most likely they didn't have the resources.

"Go to stalking mode" I ordered "And then alert the others hunters, we have trophies to collect".

Stalking mode was when the cloaking device was active, and other systems were powered down, in order to avoid detection. When the ship was in this state were like a lion moving slowly towards it prey, and when ready we would pounce. But not until we could be certain that we could take on the Covenant forces and win. If a direct battle wasn't possible then we would head to the surface and hunt on the ground.

(Line Break)

 **Covenant Fleet. Halo Verse.**

"Shipmaster" said a voice.

One of the Unggoy turned to face the tall Sangheili who was the leader of the crew and commander of this vessel, he was also in command of the small fleet which had been brought together to attack one of the human worlds. This planet's defences were minor, it had no orbital stations or any crude human vessels to defend it as such only a few Sangheili controlled vessels had been sent to cleanse it.

"What is it?" asked the Elite.

Normally the small creatures sometimes known as Grunts would cower before the stare of a high ranking Sangheili, however this Unggoy had served the shipmaster well for many years, and the small alien knew that he would not be harmed for simply reporting facts.

"Some of our forces who are assaulting a human base on the surface sent out a distress signal. It seems they have engaged the humans in great numbers, and are requesting reinforcements".

The Shipmaster turned to the warrior who was standing by his side.

"Gather your warriors and join the assault" the high ranking alien ordered "Wipe out the humans and report back to me".

The warrior nodded, and quickly made his way off the bridge. There had been no need for any further words. And since nothing else required the Shipmaster's attention he took a few moments to admire the blue-green world on the display.

"A pity it will all be glass soon," he mused to himself.

It would only be a matter of time before the last human warriors fell, and once the world could no longer resist them the small fleet would move into a lower orbit and turn the surface of the planet to glass with their plasma cannons. Such was the fate of all worlds the humans had sullied with their presence.

(Line Break)

 **Military Base. Human Colony World.**

I felt myself snarl slightly as I looked over the UNSC base which the Elites were currently attacking, the actual battle was almost over, and while the humans had been wiped out the losses for the aliens were limited to Grunts and Jackals.

Now the Elites were moving through the base checking for survivors, who they would no doubt grant a swift death too.

The Sangheili, to give the species its proper name, might see themselves as honourable warriors, but I thought otherwise. They sent members of other races to die as cannon fodder, while they remained safe under personal shields and cloaking devices.

Thinking that made me seem like a hypocrite, and to an extent I was because most people were, but it some ways I wasn't. After all I did not send others into danger to keep myself safe.

(Line Break)

 **Military Base. Human Colony World.**

"Where are they?!" a voice cried out.

Every Unggoy in the room flinched upon hearing their leader's anger, however his fellow Sangheili continued on with their duties as if there had been no outburst.

"I don't know sir" said one of the Grunts "they haven't reported back".

There were many dead humans here, who had all be killed by Covenant forces as expected, and there were even a few dead Grunts and Jackals, a testament to fierce fight the primitive humans had put up, but there was no sign of the Elites who had been leading the attack. Sure they'd sent out a call for backup, but they couldn't have all been killed.

"Perhaps the humans defeated them" one of the lesser Elites suggested.

The other warriors laughed at him, thinking this to be an absurdity impossible. The leader on the other hand, was not so amused. It was certainly a possibility that the humans killed them. After all they had their demons to help them. With that in mind he held up his hand, silencing the room. If one of the demons, known as Spartans, was here then they would need all their focus to defeat it.

"We will head deeper inside this base" the leader decided.

As they moved the warriors saw the grey walls, for some reason human military bases were often that colour, and they also saw that these walls were scorched, clearly indicating battle had taken place, but so far no bodies were to be seen, at least not of those of any Elites, the rest didn't matter.

After activating the door controls, the group made their way inside another room, moving deeper into the fortification. The halls here were dark as many of the lights were shot and the ones that weren't flashed sporadically. Which made it hard for even the Elites to see everything that was around them.

"Stay silent and watch your motion trackers," the leader ordered.

His troop nodded in confirmation, as soon they all began moving once again. They marched forward, finding more scorch marks and bullet holes in the walls but still no signs of the Elites who had called for backup.

The hall eventually led to a circular room littered with shell casings, broken weapons, blood stains, scorch marks, bullet holes, more dead human soldiers, but still no sign of their fellow warriors.

"This doesn't make sense," one of the aliens said. "Our brothers fought the humans, and won, but where are they?".

The leader of these warriors took in the scene around him and noticed something odd. Some of the scorch marks on the wall, they'd come from a Covenant plasma weapon, however it looked as if had been fired in a very erratic way.

So either a human had gotten his hands on a Plasma Rifle, and hadn't been able to handle the weapon, or the Elite who'd fought here didn't know where the enemy was, but that didn't make sense as the humans did not have the ability to make themselves invisible. Also the leader was sure that the erratic firing had taken place because one of the Elites had panicked, which was something Elites were prone to do.

This was when the leader looked up and saw the body of one of the Elites they'd come to reinforce, it was hung from the ceiling.

"What could have done this? the leader asked himself.

Even the dreaded demons didn't display defeated foes. Still it seemed likely that one of the demons was behind this.

"Spread out" the highest ranking warrior was now saying "Find the demon, and slay it!".

As it turned out dividing his forces was the single worst thing the leading Elite could have done.

"Contact, contact!"

"What's happening?!"

"Where is it?!"

"I don't see it!"

"Where did it go?!"

-AGH!-

The leader deactivated his communicator, as right now it was a distaction, and turned back to his troops, those who had remained with him, who all looked at him with confusion. He eyed them for a moment before addressing them.

"You will come with me" he ordered the fighters "We're going to find whatever the demon that did this and we are going to kill it. And in doing so we will avenge our fallen brothers!".

The warrior raised their weapons and cheered, it wasn't a great cheer, but at least their spirits were somewhat raised.

"Let's go" he then said.

With that, the Elites activated their cloaks while the less worthwhile members of the Covenant were forced to march ahead.

(Line Break)

 **Military Base. Human Colony World.**

It was quiet the leader thought, far too quiet, and the things his warriors had seen so far were unsettling them.

They had now found the missing Elites. Or what was left of them. Many of them were strung up like the first they had found, but a few of them simply had their helmets removed, and a few had even lost their heads.

By the looks of things the fallen warriors' wounds consisted of both slashes from metal blades and plasma burns. Whoever this foe was, assuming there was only one, they were experienced killers no doubt about it.

The few remaining Jackals and Grunts, the rest had either been killed or had run away, were suddenly killed as they ran afoul of some carefully places mines.

"It's a trap!" a voice called out.

Not a moment later a blast of plasma flew across the room, striking an Elite who was carrying a concussion rifle, so powerful was the attack that his shields did nothing to prevent his head from exploding.

As the shot had come from above, the aliens returned fire before moving find cover. The last two Sangheili dove to the side while reactivating cloaks. Their enemy had cloaking devices too so the experienced warriors used senses other than sight to try to find their hidden enemy.

When the leader heard an odd noise he looked over where he knew one of his comrades to be. Which meant he was in time to see a sort of spear appear out of nowhere as it plunged through the armour and body of the cloaked warrior.

The leader opened fire, only nothing happened, his weapon was dry, so he went for his Energy Blade and ignited it.

In response the demon, who was now visible, held up his spear in a challenge, and the Elite saw that he was facing something that wasn't human. This creature wore strange armour and carried odd weapons. The Elite didn't know what to make of it.

The red skinned humanoid was about to charge, only he then backed away when a female spoke. This creature also seemed seemed somewhat human, only its armour was even stranger, and it didn't move like a human should. Its movements were too fluid, too quick.

"This one is mine" repeated the female.

The two warriors, one a proud soldier of the Covenant, the other a hunter from a distant galaxy, circled each other for a moment before charging. The leader began with a slash of his sword, which seemed to only just miss, but in reality the Dark Eldar he was fighting had easily avoided the attack.

Then the Sangheili slashed again, and once more he missed, his foe's speed and agility were incredible, and she was able to strike back so swiftly that even this veteran Sangheili had no chance to mount any kind of defence.

She charged this time, using her strange sword to cut into the surface of the leader's armour, only gently cutting into the alien's skin, but that was enough since the blade was coated with a rather nasty toxin. Had the Elite been human he'd have been lying on the ground, shaking as pain racked through his body, however he wasn't at all human so the substance had no noticeable effect.

The demoness, as the Sangheili had mentally labelled her, struck once more and this time the Elite felt the cut, his life fluids were now leaking out of him, however he didn't give up the fight.

He swung his blade, and the female in the strange dark armour was forced to duck, as the energy blade nearly removed the top of her head, before the swing was done, the dark metal blade the Eldar carried was slicing into the Elitie's chest.

The Sangheili just stood there for a moment, before toppling forward, he would have landed on the smaller and thinner alien, only she had already moved out of the way.

Before the Elite could succumb to his major wound, the Dark Elder used her exotic blade to remove his head. Which she then held up for all to see, it would make for an impressive trophy.

(Line Break)

 **Clanship. Halo Galaxy.**

We didn't remain for long on the planet, mostly because I knew it was going to be glassed, but also because sooner or later the Elites would have started hunting us back. Either they'd have sent more experienced and smarter warriors after us, or they'd have just used weight of numbers. Assuming of course they didn't just bombard the area from orbit with plasma.

I was pleased by the hunt, the hunters of my clan had worked together well in taking down the Elites, and a few other aliens, many trophies had been claimed as well weapons for our armouries, for both the clan and our own uses. Alas there hadn't been time to gather much tech to sell, but I was sure we'd get chances for more looting in the future.

Now I was in my chambers letting Pampy, the red skinned Twi'lek I'd been gifted with, remove my armour, it along with my weapons, which would need to be cleaned and put away in their proper places. My asari serving girl was dealing with the weapons leaving Pampy to tend to me.

I would leave that to my servants, but I would also check to make sure my equipment was being maintained correctly. A hunter such as myself relied a lot on his equipment, so it was up to make sure that it was always in good working order.

"You know, you've been working hard recently" Pampy pointed out "You should really take a break".

The red skinned Twi'lek had adjusted well to being a serving girl, and it was a major step up from being a slave, now she got paid, didn't get beaten or starved, and as long as she did her job I didn't much care if she was formal with me or not.

"Is that so?" I asked.

"Yes" she replied, as she began to massage my shoulders.

At this point I was grinning.

"What do you think I should to relax?" I asked next.

"You can do me" Pampy suggested.

She then started kissing the left side of my neck as she stood behind me.

"Mmm…" I said with a pleased sigh "That could be arranged."

I wasted no time removing the Twi'lek's layer of mesh clothing, and I soon exposed her breasts to warm air of the ship, leaving her topless, but not for long I worked to remove all the mesh material. Once I had done that I bent her over the bed so that I could admire her firm ass.

"Give it to me" she said somewhat seductively.

In response I gave her butt a smack, and then I told her to wait like a good while I removed what little clothing I was wearing. Once I was ready I quickly buried my cock balls-deep inside her, then started fucking her hard.

"Oh fuck!" Pampy moaned. "Yes!"

Despite not starting off slowly she seemed to be enjoying herself, of course she'd be used to be used like this, and other people did more than slap her on the butt.

"Yeah? You like that?" I asked her.

"Fuck yes!" she shouted out "Give it to me!"

Upon hearing that I sped up.

"You're a dirty girl" I accused.

"Oh yes!" Pampy cried out. "Fuck this dirty girl!"

Which I did and words became impossible as I focused what little of my mind that could actually think to the process of fucking the Twi'lek. My whole world became nothing more than sexual pleasure, as I penetrated my servant as much as I possibly could.

"Fuck! Cum in me" I heard Pampy call out.

Less than a minute later we came, me first and her a moment later. Maybe she faked it, I didn't care, she was a good fuck and fine serving girl. I'd keep her.


	25. Mothership Zeta

**Author Note**

I'm working on more chapters for Stargate story for now, but here's a little something to tide you over until then. Thanks to lordanubis6238 for beta reading this chapter. Hail Anubis!

 **Predator Gothic**

 **Part 25**

 **Alien Mothership. Fallout Universe.**

My head was spinning and I could barely open my eyes, and once I could open my eyes I wished I hadn't because it wasn't just my head that was spinning, everything around me was too. Because of this I decided to keep my eyes closed and to focus on using my other senses in order to find out what was going on.

I heard strange noises, none of it made any sense to me, so I risked opening my eyes again. I really wished I hadn't as because this time I wasn't too dizzy and as such I'd been able to understand some of what I'd saw.

What I saw was strange people as they stood over me speaking a language I could not understand. Then something was lowered down and slowly moved towards me. After that my vision became blurred once again and things went dark.

When I woke up I found that my head was killing me, that my mouth was dry, and that I was lying on the ground in a state of undress. This was often the result of me attempting to consume Yautja booze. Only I couldn't recall drinking any recently so something else must have happened.

I looked around to see that I was in a small shiny metal cell and that I'd been stripped of everything other than my underwear and the wire mesh like material I wore under my armor, which was at least keeping me warm.

My armor was gone, and I had no weapons, I didn't even have my wrist device. But what was worse than all that was my honor. I'd been captured, and without a fight. This had dishonored me as hunter, now I had to either take my own life or kill those who had captured me in order to wipe away the dishonor.

If I'd still been part of the Shadow Blades Clan then about now they'd be sending another hunter to kill me and to ensure that my equipment wasn't left in the hands of an enemy. I wasn't sure what my clan would do, but at the very least they might decide that I wasn't strong enough to lead the clan, and so replace me.

This couldn't be allowed. I was the leader of Clan Gothic, the clan ship was mine, the hunters followed my lead, and the servants obeyed my orders. I would not give up the power and glory that came with leading a Clan. I would escape from this cell, slaughter those who had dared to take me captive and return to my clan with many trophies, and perhaps even some new tech.

I'd noticed very quickly that I was cell mates with an African American woman, she had short brown hair and wore a vest and shorts, she also had most of her clothing removed.

"Hey kid you okay?" she asked.

I disliked being called a kid, but it was unavoidable, whatever the Yautja had done to me the first time that I'd been abducted by aliens, made me seem youthful. Also the treatment made me stronger, tougher, faster, and much more agile, but some of that was the training I'd gone through.

"Mostly" was my answer.

The woman nodded.

"Names Somah" she said.

She looked a random wastelander to me. Perhaps that was all she happened to be.

"I'm Gothic" I told her.

That could be Captain Gothic or Clan Leader Gothic, however right now I didn't feel deserving of any titles.

Somah and I exchanged some details, as it turned out we'd both fallen for the same trick. The both of us had picked up a radio transmission, and had tracked it until we found a crashed alien spaceship. Which was course I'd wanted to loot for the tech.

The Citadel of Gothics, normally just called the Citadel, had a strange economy, gold and jewels were worthless there because they had Star Trek style replicators, so only materials that couldn't be replicated were worth anything. Aside from those rare materials, advanced technology and magic items also had great worth.

The Citadel had machines called nano-forges, which could build pretty much anything as long as the design for it. Because of this pretty much any technology, other than biotech and magitech, could be copied and produced in a limited quantity. However this took time, energy and resources, so most of the time people just traded for the tech they needed.

A lot of this trade involved weapons, armor, and tools, and Fallout had all that. It had energy weapons, power armor, robots, and some stuff I couldn't even remember, much of which my Clan could have uses for, or could be traded.

This was why I'd come to this world, and why I'd so badly wanted to loot the alien tech. Sure Sparky Gothic, the alternate version of myself who was a mad inventor (think Rick only far less of an asshole) had spent much time in this universe, but from I understood he spent too much time on his different projects to work as an arms dealer.

"Okay I think now is a good time to get the hell out of here" Somah said.

That was fine with me. I needed to recover my weapons and armor at least. The trophies were of less value, but I would like to recover them as well.

"What's the plan?" I asked.

"Well think about it, they aren't going to kill us yet, they want us alive for something but maybe if we fought each other a bit, you know put a show on so when they come in to break us up, we break them up if you catch my drift".

I took a second to think about that. Her words made sense. These aliens had taken us alive, and were studying us. No doubt they were very interested in me given how different I was from other humans. They would want to keep me alive.

"Alright let's do it. Just no kicking below the belt" I said with a smile.

Her expression let me know that she might not follow that rule before she said anything.

"No promises" she told me as she raised her fist.

She then decked me right in the face. I staggered back, wiped my mouth with the back of the hand, and taking her by surprise, I tackled her, so that she dropped to the ground.

I tried not to laugh as she rolled over and soon she was on top of me punching me in the face. Her first blow had been good, but she was following them up with much weaker punches.

After a few moments of fake fighting the aliens noticed and shouted something at us through hidden speakers. I'd recently had my mask upgraded to translate alien speech and words, but I didn't have it on me so I had no clue what was being said.

By the time Somah got me in a headlock, which must have looked very odd given that we were both in a state of undress, the aliens had arrived in the flesh. They pulled out some metal rods and opened the door.

"Get them!" Somah shouted.

She tackled one and I smashed my fist square into the others face. He dropped the rod and I picked it up and pushed the button I saw on the handle. The end of it started to spark as electricity erupted from it I smashed it into his face. He shrieked in pain before falling dead on the floor with smoke coming out of his mouth.

Clearly it was some sort of hi-tech stun baton, or more likely a type of cattle prod. It was clear that these aliens saw us more as animals than people, if they were capable of seeing us as equals they wouldn't be abducting us like this.

I looked over at Somah who had done the same as me. She gave me a thumbs up and ran forward to the other side of the room. There was no time to stand around chatting as our escape had only just begun. Getting out of the cell was easy but getting off the ship would prove to be a challenge.

Somah and I kept making our way through the ships prison quarters taking down as many of the little alien as we could. No alarms went off and none of the aliens carried any real weapons. From this I deduced that they hadn't dealt with a serious escape attempt before, and that like many aliens they'd underestimated us humans.

I passed a cell that still had a survivor in it. It was a young woman, who like the rest of us was in a state of undress. Unlike Somah and I she was curled in the corner of her cell mumbling something.

While it was cruel to leave her here, I knew that in her current state she'd just slow us down, and we had to move quickly. She might even attack us if her mind was too far gone. Alas some people just couldn't handle stuff like this.

"Is anyone there. Hello?" a voice asked

We walked over to a cell and saw a young girl.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay" the girl said "And I can help you get out of here. But you have to get me out first".

I saw no harm in freeing the child.

"Okay, how do I do that?" I asked.

"See that thing over there, press the button on it, then press the buttons on the other devices, it will get hot, blow up and I'll be free" she instructed.

The device the girl had gestured to wasn't hard to miss, I pressed the button and three switches came out. I pressed each one and quickly ran away as lights started going off and in an instant it exploded. This somehow freed the human girl.

"Oh thank you" she exclaimed as she ran up to me. "Are you trying to escape the ship?"

I nodded.

"That's the plan" I said "We'll beat the hell out of these little green bastards and get the hell off this ship" I said.

Maybe blow it up, or better yet I could come back with my clan, cripple the ship, board it, and loot it for profit.

"I'm Sally" the small human informed me.

This was when I noticed that her style of clothing and general level of hygiene seemed wrong for the world below. A mystery to be sure, one to wonder about later, at a time when I wasn't trapped on an alien ship, right now we had to escape.

"I know this ship better than anyone" Sally said "Follow me".

Well it wasn't as if Somah or I had a plan for anything after escaping our cells. So we both followed Sally as we made our way back to the main room and back to the large round door. She tore off a covering on a vent and crawled in.

A few moments later the door opened up and Sally was standing there with a big smile on her face. I too found this amusing as normally it was the alien creature messing about in the vents.

"I sometimes get out of my cell and explore the ship, I just move a few wires around and stuff like this happens" she told us.

As we walked down the hall we heard some more alien gibberish coming from another room. I signaled for everyone to stop as I slowly approached a room that was the source of the noise.

I looked in to see two aliens going through my things. One was examining my wrist device, scanning it and I hoped he wasn't damaging the device as that version of the wrist device had been modified for my use. Plus there was a chance that they could trigger the self destruct.

"Wait here" I ordered the two human females.

I ran in and hit the first one in the head three times before letting it drop the ground, the second one took a swing at my chest, but I stepped out of the way and smashed the baton right in its head killing it while breaking the baton.

"It's all clear" I said.

Next I grabbed my armor and put it on, I then took my wrist device and tried to make contact with my ship. However there was something jamming the communications, and even if I had been able to call for it I'd need to find the hanger bay, assuming this ship had one. Hopefully the jamming was some sort of defense the aliens had and it could be deactivated.

I walked over to a container, and I looked through it. Within I found a 10mm pistol, which I'd taken from a raider, my ceremonial dagger, which was used to take trophies, my shoulder mounted plasma caster, that I was forcing myself to use, my net gun, wrist blades, sword, combistick, grenades, and mask.

Within the other containers were more weapons and equipment. Somah found her shot gun in one container, and her clothes, which were not the clothes of a raider, or worse a Talon merc, she just looked like another wasteland scavenger.

As we left I looked down the hall to see an alien doing what I guessed was some sort of patrol. He didn't seem to be doing a very good job, and he paid the price for his lack of attention when I blew his head off with my plasma caster.

Like other bits of my tech it had been modified for my use, and it was now controlled with a neural implant. Basically I had to focus on the device and think what I wanted it to do. Which made it too easy to use in my opinion, but this wasn't a hunt so I didn't consider it cheating to use it this way.

I patted down the dead alien and found what looked be like some sort of crystals, not unlike the currency used on the Citadel. There they used some sort of crystal coins harvested from a bizarre kind of plant that stored psychic energy.

While I didn't understand how that worked, I figured they used it for money since it couldn't be replicated and because the crystals fed off psychic energy they stored, which meant that they remained alive even when turned into coins.

As for these crystals, well perhaps they were also some sort of money, and if so they could be off some value back at the Citadel.

I also took the alien's weapon. Which looked like something out a cheap sci-fi movie, but when I tested it the weapon it reduced the body of the dead alien into something that looked like ash. Must be some kind of heat ray type thing, I thought to myself. While I was already carrying a lot of weapons the ray gun didn't weight much so I just kept it in my hands.

"C'mon up here. We can use this thing to go up and to where the boss alien is" Sally yelled down to us.

We arrived at a small platform and Sally started to frown.

"Oh no, they must have turned it off. This thing works kind of like an elevator and could have taken us straight to the boss alien's room" she said.

Maybe she meant the bridge, or his actual quarters. Either way taking out the ships commanding officer before the aliens realized something was wrong would have been a good thing.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

We all stood there before Sally got an idea. She ran over towards a larger room that had a generator in it and immediately ran upstairs.

"I've got an idea!" she shouted "We can ask the astronaut to go out in space and turn on the elevator for us".

Why would the on switch be outside the ship?

Before I could ask about out loud Sally had done something that made a wall move, and behind that wall were stasis pods. I walked up to one and touched the surface to feel nothing but cold. I looked in to see a man dressed in jeans, chaps and a cowboy hat, your stereotypical cowboy.

"How long have you been in here?" I wondered.

Science fiction tended to vary when it came to stasis technology; some seemed to perfectly preserve people for a very long time while others only slowed down the effects of time. This cowboy seemed well enough so this must be good stasis tech.

"Hey push that" Sally called out.

I walked over to the switch and pushed the button as instructed, causing the stasis pods to open up. Mist burst out of the pods and the ice started to melt. In an instant all four people who'd been in stasis fell to the ground.

One was the cowboy, the second was an astronaut and the third was some kind of army medic and the last was what looked like a samurai warrior. They all slowly got to their feat all except the astronaut, he was dead.

"Aww the astronaut died" Sally said in a sad tone.

"What happened to him?" Somah wondered.

Some malfunction of the pod I guessed.

"I don't know these things just happen sometimes" Sally answered.

Someone new spoke next.

"Who the hell are you guys?" the cowboy asked.

He didn't sound much like a cowboy, perhaps none ever sounded that way outside of the movies. Or maybe he wasn't actually a cowboy, the jeans looked more modern than they should. He could just be in a custom.

"I'm Gothic, the girl is Sally, and the lady with the shotgun is Somah" I introduced. "Who are you?"

"Call me Paulson" said the cowboy.

"Elliot Tercorien, serial number 3477809, Medic of the 108th Infantry Battalion in Anchorage" the soldier said.

Wasn't that like 200 years ago?

"Anchorage? You mean that war in Alaska with the Chinese?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Yeah, my squad and I went up to help some of our men when a blinding light surrounded us. We couldn't move or anything. The next thing I know I'm strapped to a table and there are aliens poking and prodding me" he said.

He then started looking around.

"You haven't seen other men dressed like me have you?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Oh, okay" he said as he walked away looking distraught.

(Who are you boy?)

That had been the Samurai speaking; my mask gave me subtitles in English.

"My name is Gothic. Are you okay?" I asked.

(Yes many thanks for freeing me from my prison)

"So what's the plan?" Somah asked.

I turned to Sally. She was a smart girl and seemed to know what to do.

"Well the teleporter can be turned on from the higher level in space. Gothic can go out and activate it for us and we can all go to the captain's quarters" she said.

Clearly she'd been planning this escape for some time, and she was smart, scary smart. I was starting to wonder if she was a plant of some kind, like an alien in disguise, but I couldn't see the point of that and also I had no way of testing to see if she was an alien without hurting her. I couldn't do that in case she was actually just a very intelligent kid. There was no honour in harming a child.

"You're the only one who's brave enough and smart enough to do this" Sally was now saying.

I sighed at the transparent attempt to appeal to my ego, and then I sighed again when I realized how correct the girl was.

"Okay, so what do I have to do?" I asked.

I already knew that I wasn't going to like this.

"Well, they're probably waiting for us on the other side of that door." she said "So we're going to have to suck out all their air in order for you to pass".

"Even if I turn off their air they probably have a backup in case of emergencies" I pointed out.

My ship did. I couldn't imagine a ship not having a backup for the life support.

"Three actually" Sally told me "In three separate locations, and they are guarded by more aliens and robot guards"

At this point I just sighed some more.

"I didn't say it would be easy" Sally said.

This girl wasn't a plant, she was the devil in disguise I felt sure of it.

(Line Break)

Well it had taken a long time, but I finally managed to get us one step closer to the bridge; which we were going to need to take if we had any chance of getting off this damn ship.

"What's down here?" I asked Sally.

Currently we were going down yet another hallway. This was a big ship.

"There's a storage room filled with a bunch of crates filled with weapons and supplies" Sally said "There's even more in a different part of the ship".

This was when I noticed that we were one short.

"Where's the samurai?" I asked.

Everyone shrugged their shoulders.

"I don't know." Sally said "He walked down stairs and that's the last we saw of him".

While it was harsh to leave people behind, it was also practical as I had no idea where he'd ran off to and I wasn't responsible for him if he chose to run off on his own. Besides I had no desire to get lost while wandering around this big ship, looking for him, maybe I would find him if I come back with my ship to loot this one.

"He's probably dead." Paulson stated bluntly.

Just then an alien appeared. A few of us opened fire only to hit nothing. It turned out to be a hologram. The glowing head fired a laser beam down at earth and babbled about how we should surrender and accept our fate. It was threatening to kill people down on the planet if we didn't cooperate.

"Fuck that." I said.

We all moved on and went down yet another hallway and towards a door when we heard what sounded like a war breaking out. From this I guessed that we must have set others free when I was messing about with the controls for the cells. Or maybe Sally had let them out while I'd been doing my space walk. I didn't really care about them beyond that they were a good distraction for my group.

"Okay you guys stay here while I scout ahead and clear the path for you" I said.

I was about to cloak when someone grabbed my arm.

"This teleporter leads straight to the bridge of the ship" Sally said as she turned to a teleporter" If you can turn it on we can take over the ship".

Yeah I could do that.

"Okay wish me luck." I said as I walked over to the teleporter.

(Line Break)

"It's over" I said.

While the space walk had been time consuming, as well as dangerous, everything else had been rather simple. Clearly whomever else the aliens had been fighting must have been taking up most of their attention.

"We… did it" Somah said in disbelief.

What was this 'we' business. I'd done all the work. I'd teleported on to the bridge and killed the crew. I'd done the space walk, and I'd pressed all those damn buttons.

"Yay go us" cheered Sally.

The celebration, if it could be called that, was cut short when another alien ship was seen outside from passed for windows on his ship. A screen that displayed info on the enemy ship, our death ray, and shields appeared, and thankfully for everyone I understood what was happening. The second alien ship was targeting us. They must have realized by now that something was wrong, and I was willing to bet that they would hail this ship, fail to get an answer from its captain, and then they would blast us with everything they had. I couldn't allow that to happen. I had to act first.

"Firing the laser!" I shouted

A blue beam fired at the enemy ship, but their shield blocked it. They returned fire and our shields went down, but the Xenos didn't finish us off.

Just then more aliens appeared. We all drew our guns and opened fired. They took cover by the wall firing shots of blue plasma at us. They must have teleported on board when the shields went down as I fired the main weapon, and now they were trying to take this ship back.

While under fire I reached for the controls and the ship's big death ray laser thing fired again blowing up the other space ship. They must have lowered their shields to transport more aliens over just as I fired. Once that happened finishing off the rest of the Xenos proved to be a simple task.

"Well that was fun" I said "time for me to leave".

The control layout wasn't that complex and since I could read everything, I was able to lower the shield, which allowed me to summon my scout ship to the hanger bay. Once it arrived I could go back to my clan ship and bring the whole clan here to loot the hell out of this vessel. Heck if the stuff was good enough I'd loot them in an alternate reality.

"Where are you going?" Somah asked.

"Back to my ship" I told her "I have some friends who can help me strip this ship of everything of value".

Somah smiled.

"Need any help?" she asked.

I didn't think she could be a hunter, but she might be a decent servant if I could convince her to join. She admitted to me then that she was a slaver, but this wasn't a big issue for me, as I could use someone to keep the serving girls in line. As long as she didn't do anything the servants hadn't agreed to in their contracts. We could talk about that later. Once she had seen what my clan was like.

"What about you Sally?" I asked.

The cowboy and soldier had been vaporized at some point, and no one was upset about that. As for the Samurai, well he was somewhere around here.

"Oh I'm staying here" she said "Someone has to deal with the aliens if they come back".

I shook my head.

"How can someone so small, be so grown up?" I thought out loud.

Sally smiled.

"I only look small" she said "I've been on this ship for a very long time. The aliens did stuff to me."

Well that answered some of my questions, and gave me a whole bunch more I wanted to ask, but not now as my scout ship had docked. It was time to leave.


	26. Chapter 26

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 26**

 **DC Ruins. Fallout Verse.**

Day was giving over to night as we all ventured towards the Lady of Hope Hospital and Statesman Hotel. My clan was going into battle together, a group hunt, not for trophies or technology, although we could end up getting plenty of both, but to save people. Well that would be the end result, it just wasn't the main motivation.

"So tell me again why are we risking our lives for these rangers?" Trost asked.

Trost was a pureblood Sith, although he never wielded a lightsaber, like me he'd been brought into a Yautja clan and when we'd escaped from that game preserve, he'd joined my clan. Now he was more or less my second in command, although it was never that formal.

Aside from being a hunter, he was also a pirate and a smuggler, not that I minded. As long as he served the clan's needs and followed the rules I didn't care if he used his scout ship for a few business deals on the side. I did mind he got back into slave dealing as that was forbidden, but so far the only slaves he'd brought were all turned into servants, and again that was fine with me.

"One because it's the right thing to do, and two because were getting paid" I stated as we came upon the hospital.

I didn't mind helping people as normally there was something in it for me, and this time there was.

"So we're just doing this for money?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"No this is for information" I explained "the rangers have been mapping the ruins of this city for a while now, and we need that information if we want to hunt here".

Hunting for my clan involved more than collecting heads, we sought technology, as well other things of value, and information always had value to someone. We could use information on this city so that we could find things of interest. Of course we could learn a lot from just scanning this city, but if we did that we couldn't come here and kill lots of super mutants. Besides making some new allies wouldn't be such a bad idea, not if we were going to return to this hunting ground often.

"Plus this area is thick with super mutants" I told the group "Plenty of chances to claim some new trophies"

By now I could see that a couple of super mutants were positioned on a crosswalk between two old parking garages, and I also heard when they opened fired with their hunting rifles. They couldn't see us, and I couldn't see what they were shooting at, but I assumed it to be the Dark Elder member of my clan.

She'd decided to scout ahead, and while she could be invisible if she wished, sometimes she like to let her prey glimpse her before she went in for the kill. To her the hunt was a game, a form of amusement, and while I didn't approve of her toying with her prey, I wasn't going to stop her from having fun as long as kept her sadism focused on valid targets.

Bloodrayne may also be with her as the half-human/half-vampire shared that habit of vanishing into thin air only to reappear later on.

"Stay cloaked" I ordered the group "And make sure you use the right vision mode".

Our masks had all been upgraded by Sparky Gothic, and while his services were not cheap, as he had a strong desire for new tech to play with, it was worth the cost. Our mask had many types of vision, and even when cloaked we could see each others outlines. Which was important as we wanted to avoid friendly fire.

We all moved on towards the entrance to the hospital and proceeded with caution as we entered. Within the large building we found what looked like a waiting room of the hospital and there were no mutants in sight.

Before long I moved towards a door. Then I slowly turned the knob and opened the door only to be ambushed by a disgusting creature. The head and torso looked like a man but the rest of the body looked like an animal. Oh and it had three tongues.

I jumped back as it raised its strange head at me, I slashed with my sword and cut off the top of its head. The creature was very odd looking, but it still required a brain to function so my move killed it very quickly.

The sword looked old fashioned, and while its handle could be hundreds of years old, the metal of the blade had been replaced with a material that was razor sharp as well as highly resistant to xenomorph blood. As such it cut through mere flesh with ease.

"What the fuck is that thing?" I heard Sarah exclaim as she de-cloaked.

Everyone else moved away, but not too far, they were keeping an eye out for danger.

"A centaur," I told her "They're pretty much dogs of the super mutants".

At least as far as I understood things.

"That thing, part of it look human" she said.

She walked over and examined the corpse, wanting a closer look.

"They were human, so were the super mutants, once" I said.

There was no time to discuss this more, and I'd destroyed the skull so no trophy here, the rest of its body parts didn't seem like they'd look good in the trophy case, as such it was time to move on.

Once in the main lobby I took out a brute who was carrying a minigun with my shoulder mounted plasma caster, just as three more came out and we all opened fired killing them with no effort.

"Okay we need to clear each floor." I said as I checked the minigun for ammo.

If this was like in the game the Rangers would need the ammo, and I could easily carry the extra weight.

"Alice, you and Sarah clear this floor, then work your way up. Trost, you and I will go to the roof and then work our way done"

With that we separated. Intending to met later and once this building was clear we could make our way across the building the rangers were in.

(Line Break)

 **DC Ruins. Fallout Verse.**

I walked over to Trost as he finished used his ceremonial dagger to pry lose a tooth from a super mutant's mouth. The taking of skulls was more time consuming, and tended to reserved for more worthy prey, teeth and claws were normally taken as trophies from less difficult kills, as they were easier to carry and could be worn as decoration.

"You okay boss?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Yeah, is that all the super mutants?" I asked.

"On our floor yes, on the other floors I'm not sure" he said.

Just then there was an explosion on the floor below us. We ran towards the stairs as fast as we could trying not to trip over the dead mutants and centaurs. We arrived at another room that reeked of gas. Out of that room came Sarah and Alice.

"Nice going idiot, you almost got us killed!" Alice yelled.

She normally kept her cool, as such I was mildly surprised to hear her make an outburst like that.

"It's not my fault I didn't smell the gas" Sarah.

If any enemies were going to turn up, lured here by the noise, they would have arrived by now.

"What happened?" I asked.

Alice soon started explaining.

"When we separated, me and Sarah followed the mutants up the stairs and took down pretty much any that got in our way. We followed a few of them down here and...

"And fired a plasma weapon igniting the gas nearly killing us!" Connor chipped in.

Knowing that we didn't have time for these two to bitch I ordered Sarah to come with me and for Alice to go with the Sith. I was starting to wish that I'd brought Rayne with us, but she'd gone off on her own, to feed I assumed. I really didn't want to know.

"Trost you go with Alice" I decided, knowing that we needed to keep moving "I'll take Sarah with me".

(Line Break)

 **DC Ruins. Fallout Verse.**

We all regrouped at the second floor and made our way to the bridge that connected the hospital and the hotel. We crossed over and proceeded inside the building and wound up at a staircase, I was about to walk up the stairs before Sarah violently grabbed my shoulder and almost slammed me into the wall.

"Watch your step" advised Sarah

Hanging from the ceiling were three frag grenades connected to the same string that I had almost stepped upon. Had I triggered the trap, the grenades would have dropped and I'd have been blown to bits.

"Thank you" I said to Connor.

Sarah let go of me, stepped over the string and proceeded up the stairs, but not before she defused the grenade trap.

As we walked a centaur blundered out into the hallway and I stabbed the creature with my sword. The monster let out a dying wail as it slumped to the ground. Sarah and I then aimed our guns down the hall waiting for any mutants to come charging in, but the hallway remained the same.

"What the hell, where are all the monsters?" Sarah asked.

That was a good question.

"They're probably still fighting with the rangers" I said as we walked down the hallway.

Sarah diffused another trap at the stairs and we proceeded to the next floor, and the way ahead looked clear, so it was shock when a super mutant master smashed through the wall.

A moment later I was busy dodging the swings of the mutant master's super sledge as we fought in one of the ruined remains of a hotel rooms. I kept dodging until the mutant got its weapon stuck in a wall, when it did I pulled out my 10mm pistol and tried to shoot the creature in the head, which I was successful at doing. Soon the monster lay dead beneath me and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"It was like it could see you" Sarah said as I used my knife to recover a tooth.

Yes it had seemed that way. Perhaps the larger versions of this creature had refined senses that allowed them to see or hear their prey, or maybe there was an imperfection with my cloaking device. I'd have to get it checked out the next time I went to the Citadel, but there was no rush as we had spares.

I then attempted to lift the mutants super sledge, thinking that it would look great in one of my ship's trophy cases, but while I could lift it, the weight made it took impractical to carry into battle. With that in mind I hid the weapon, intending to come back for it later.

We all regrouped in the middle of the hall and preceded to the next floor, we encountered the dead body of quartermaster Theo in the stairwell. I told Trost to pick up the ammunition crate as we walked up the stairs.

"There should be stairway that leads to the top of the hotel." I said as I turned to everyone. "No going back now. You guys ready?".

We all cloaked again and headed inside. I burst open the door and working together we all took down as many super mutants as we could. I shot two that were behind some kind of bar and I saw Alice threw a frag grenades at the ones near what I guessed be a janitor's closet.

These mutants could see us it seemed, which supported the idea that the older and powerful mutants had senses sharper than younger ones. Perhaps something could be done about that in the future.

We all took the stairs and walked outside , and I quickly noticed the pile of mutant corpses that were littering the ground. We followed the sounds of gunshots and yelling as approached another set of stairs.

"Let's decloak" I said "there's no sense letting the natives know how advanced our technology is".

I was about to round the corner when someone opened fire, and I only just avoided getting shot.

"Reilly's Rangers!" I yelled. "We were sent by Reilly to rescue you"

I waited a few moments for a response before someone spoke.

"Well then move your asses before they send in the next wave!" a man shouted,

As we moved to where the rangers had hunkered down I noted there were mutant bodies laying all over the place, the fighting here must have been very intense.

Next I looked over the rangers. One was a big man with a brown hair and a 10mm SMG, the other was slim guy with a combat helmet and a Chinese assault rifle, and the last was a woman with dark skin and had a minigun on her back.

The big guy approached us and we neared them.

"I'm Butcher the team medic" he introduced.

"I'm Donovan the team engineer" the slim guy said.

"Howdy I'm Brick and this fine weapon here is Eugene" the woman told us.

I introduced us, just giving names, there was no time for anything else. Which was good because I didn't want them asking questions about our weapons and armour. The Wasteland was a very strange place, but even by its standards we seemed odd.

"What's the situation?" I asked.

To me it looked like a bad one.

"The situation is that were screwed" Butcher told us "Were nearly out of everything, food, ammo, and water".

I motioned the only other guy in my group to give them their ammo pack and they all cheered.

"Alright now we have a chance" Butcher said as he and his men reloaded their weapons.

"What's the plan?" I asked next "I assume you have an idea of how to get out of here".

My memories of this mission in the game were vague.

"If we had a fission battery we could power up the elevator and take it straight down to the ground floor" Butcher explained.

I immediately took off my bag and dug around until I found what I was looking for. I'd collected a few odds and ends while in this world, and I kept them in a small bag I had slung over my shoulder.

"Like this?" I asked holding up the small but heavy battery.

His face lit up as he snatched the battery out of my hands.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed as he ran over to the elevator.

He fixed it up in a matter of seconds and all the rangers cheered.

"Okay, our headquarters isn't far away" Donovan said. "You guys are more than welcome to bunk at our hideout till morning".

We wouldn't need to, but the offer was a kind one.

(Line Break)

 **DC Wasteland. Fallout Verse.**

"Thank you, all of you thank you" Riley said when we returned her people to her "My whole crew would be dead without you".

Indeed they would be.

"Nah, it was all in a day's work" I said, as if it was no big deal.

She chuckled.

"Cocky huh? I like that.

She then got down to business.

"Now about your payment" she said.

The woman handed over the payment, and spent a moment looking very thoughtful.

"Actually, wait here" she said as she walked into another room.

When she came out she held a green suit of combat armour with the symbol of Reilly's rangers across the chest.

"You've earned this" I was told as she gave me the armour.

I didn't need it, but it might look good in my trophy case back in my apartment, which was in the Citadel.

"Thanks" I said before turning to leave.

(Line Break)

 **The Citadel of Gothics.**

With a wave of my hand a sensor was triggered and the wall began to slide down. The new trophies, weapons and armour all taken from recent hunts, that I had decided to store at my apartment here at the Citadel, soon vanished from view.

This was much like what would happen on a Yautja vessel but for different reasons. The Yautja seemed to simply dislike clutter and for the most part they weren't a material lot, they lived rather simple lives for such an advanced people.

Here it was different, humans, and most of the people living in the Citadel were humans, didn't mind clutter so much, in fact we seemed to delight in filling our living spaces with useless junk. No the reason for these hidden compartments was to hide things.

That didn't mean dangerous things were being hidden, or that people wanted to hide something they thought was shameful, it was just that some thing were private and didn't need to be shared. Also somethings thing were personal, and needed to be secured.

Not that these apartments were that secure, perhaps the Citadel should invest in some highly secure, underground vaults of some kind. The sort of place were things both possible dangerous, priceless and private could be safely put away. I'd suggest it next time I saw someone from the Council.

My apartment was series of room that took up part of one floor of a tower block which was on the second level of the Citadel, the lowest levels were on the first floor, but you couldn't travel from them to the higher levels, not unless you owned the entire block. The two levels of the Citadel's main dome were for the most part kept apart.

The reason for this was plain to see as I left my apartment and went on to what passed for streets within this great dome. It was different from other places I'd been, it was clean without seeming empty, really it was just new, yet it felt lived in. Which was thanks to there being more people here these days.

I'd only been gone for a few weeks, but things changed for those who noticed these things. There were more people here now, and not just alternate versions of myself, which was something I was still finding odd, but also a lot of woman of many different kinds.

You'd think that we collected them, yet not all of these females were in a harem, or whatever the group of woman called themselves, some Gothics just seemed to pick up strays and bring them home. This was part of the purpose of the Citadel, to provide a safe haven for Gothics and those that they cared about.

My clan was by the far the worst at this as we had a number of former slaves that we'd turned into servants, which was good for them, but it did mean that there were more females around and of course woman of all kinds like to shop, and we did pay our serving girls, as such a number of new stores had opened up on the lower level of the Citadel.

This entire reality had been made by men for men, and here you easily get all the clothes you needed from a Star Trek style replicator, yet somehow the Citadel had a women's shoe store. Which just made no sense to me.

On the other hand anyone who wasn't a Gothic was required to be branded, this was suppose to avoid confusion should there be two versions of anyone woman around here. But I suspected that this was really just an excuse made up by the ruling Gothics so they got to be all kinky.

While thinking about kinky stuff I entered the strip club that had been set up by Xander Harris, and soon as I got inside I saw how different the place had become since the last time I was here. It seemed less about the stripping now and seemed to be more of a club.

The club was softly lit, and there was music playing in the background, but it was calmer than before, and there lots more girls around, no just asari, but females of other races, and they were all in states of undress. A few were just wandering around naked.

There weren't many customers, however that didn't concern me as the club part was just a cover for the real business of my clan, which involved selling advanced weapons and other tech to some of the Gothics who made use of the Citadel. That was after all part of why the Citadel existed.

I was just about to go get when some woman in some sort of lab coat came rushing towards me. Either she was a stripper with a theme or Sparky Gothic had sent someone to talk to me,.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

The woman nodded.

"My employer wishes to met with you as soon as possible" she said.

I looked around at the club, and then sighed.

"Fine" I said "Take me to him".

(Line Break)

 **The Citadel of Gothics.**

I didn't get much chance to look around the lab of Sparky Gothic, and that was a shame as it looked as if he had some cool stuff. I was quickly taken into a room, were a hologram was being displayed, it seemed to be some sort of landscape and some underground. If I was understanding the display correctly then there was a large metal deposit deep under the surface of some world.

"Ah good you're here" said Sparky Gothic.

This version of me seemed to have some sort of frantic energy about him, I wondered if he ever relaxed, or if he just spent all this time tinkering with things. Also I was amazed by the fact that he could pull off wearing a lab coat that was clearly made of some sort of leather, it should have looked very stupid, only it didn't.

"I was scanning the planet and found a large deposit of Mithral" I was informed "Its a precious metal often found in mountain ranges in certain areas of Faerûn and in the Underdark. It exists in this world because its design is partly on the Forgotten Realms, Planeswalker Gothic got part of the information he needed to make a universe from Lord Ao".

That meant very little to me.

"And?" I asked.

I was a Clan Leader and a hunter, as such mineral deposits were not my concern.

"Well the deposit is massive, but it's also deep underground, and I've seen Aliens versus Predator so you can see where this going" he answered.

Actually I could. In that film the Predators used the main weapon on their mother ship to drill a hole through the ice and to a pyramid.

"You want to make you a tunnel that leads to this mithral stuff" I said.

Sparky Gothic nodded, and then altered the hologram so that it showed a tunnel sloping at an angle from the surface to the deposit.

"With a tunnel at the right angle we'll be able to get to the mithril deposit and start mining right away" I was told "Well we'll need to put up supports for the tunnel and tracks for the carts, but with your help we'll save a lot of time, and I'll give you credit equal to ten percent of the value of the ore, which your clan can use to by technology and pay for repairs".

Since this wouldn't be much work for my clan I agreed to assist in this project.


	27. Chapter 27

**Predator Gothic**

 **Part 27**

 **Scout Ship. Buffy Verse.**

Mirrors were not a common sight on Yautja ships, there was little point in them for a species that saw in terms of heat rather than light, but my personal vessel, did have a mirror as I could see what humans called the visible light spectrum.

What I saw pleased me. I'd been able to further upgrade my equipment thanks to the deal made with Sparky Gothic, and now I wore a layer of material which similar to what was worn by the kull warriors in Stargate. It was lightweight, yet not only could it handle a lot of energy, but it was also as tough as kevlar while in no way resisting movement. It had replaced the wire mesh like material I normal wore.

Combined with my Yautja style armour, which had been modified for my human use, and I was very well protected. My head was still vulnerable, as my bio-mask only offered a little protection, but I was a hunter of honour, and to me there was no sense hunting if the prey had no chance of harming me.

Because of this I might not wear the Kull warrior armour underlay very often. But I wasn't foolish enough to never wear it as there would be hunts when I faced prey that was very heavily armed.

Besides I still had my skills in stealth to help me avoid getting shot or stabbed. I also needed to be more careful when dealing with explosives as while on the world of Fallout I'd nearly triggered a crude trap. Every warrior had to remind himself not to let his pride trick him into thinking he was invincible.

I quickly put on my armour, doing so by myself as I'd not brought any of my clan's servants with me to this universe, and then I when back to the mirror so that I could admire myself.

Hopefully I looked fearsome, like a true warrior. I should as my armour fit my body well, and my trophies, such as the xenomorph tail and chain that was wrapped around me from shoulder to hip, also looked good on me. As did the teeth, claws, and small horns I used on necklaces and bracelets as decoration.

When I'd done that I went over to my armoury, which was hidden behind a wall. Once the weapons were exposed to view I made my choice. This was done slowly as the choice I made now could make the difference between a successful hunt and my own death.

First of all I set up the shoulder mounted plasma caster. Not my favourite weapon, and while I had practised using the neural interface to control the device, I still wasn't totally comfortable with it, and perhaps never would be. It wasn't a weapon that had been created for humans to use.

However from what I remembered of the creatures in this universe, the monsters I would soon hunt, I knew that guns weren't always effective against. However my plasma caster fired superheated matter, which should be effective against creatures such as vampires, who had a habit of bursting into flames.

I also took my sword, which had given to me by my Yautja mentor, my combi-stick, a net gun, and my ceremonial dagger. I also had my wrist blades. That was a lot of weaponry for one person to carry, however I'd been well trained, and my armour was designed to allow to carry the weight without much trouble.

Last of all I picked up a small rucksack, which I could carry over my shoulder without it getting in the way of my plasma-caster, it could hold a few trophies, as well as any other small objects that took my fancy.

Now that I was ready it was time to leave the ship, and to start the hunt. I had demons to slay.

"Guard the ship" I order Lupa.

She was in her wolf form, and as such couldn't reply, so I took the single bark to be her way of signalling her agreement. I would have taken her with me, but I felt like spending some time alone, and I was the Clan Leader so she had to do as I told her to.

(Line Break)

 **LA. Buffy Verse.**

"I love virgins"

The source of the voice was a vampire, an unholy, unnatural, undead creature that drank the blood of humans, it had been out prowling the streets of this city looking for a lone human to feed upon.

Now it had found one, a young human girl who upon missing the last bus home, foolishly decided to walk, and even more foolishly she had decided to go off the more well lit streets while seeking a shortcut on her way.

By the looks of things this woman's young life was going to reach its short end. She held in her hands the small cross she wore, however that wasn't going to be enough to protect her and while the girl prayed, her deity seemed uninterested in coming to her rescue.

While the girl was backing away, the blood sucker shifted this face to its demonic form and edged closer to the human female. He was savouring the moment, knowing that the fear this girl felt would sweeten the taste of her blood. However he wasn't going to wait long as he hungered.

What neither the human or the vampire notice was three red dots which slowly travelled up the vampires back until they stopped at were a human's heart would be. Then a moment later the vampire caught fire, and exploded into dust, he'd been hit by what had seemed to be a bolt of energy, which was in fact super-heated plasma.

"Thank you!" called out the girl.

The young woman ran home thinking that she had witnessed a miracle, but had she known the source of her deliverance, she'd still be running right now, just for different reasons.

(Line Break)

 **LA. Buffy Verse.**

It had taken some time, but I'd found a type of vision that allowed to me tell vampires apart from humans without having to use infra-red. I so loved my upgraded mask. Sparky Gothic was a true genius, able to work wonders with technology that was already very advanced.

As for the vampires, while they were valid targets for a hunter, they turned to ash upon death, which made for a poor trophy. However they were very dangerous so I didn't see as dishonourable to burn them from a distance whenever I saw one.

As much as I wouldn't mind destroying more members of that species, they weren't my primary target. This world had much more interesting prey. I didn't enjoy killing humans, although I would if needs be, but I had actually come here to hunt demons.

While I had enough, fangs, teeth, claws and horns I didn't have many skulls for my trophy cases, which was a shame because as the clan leader I had the largest trophy cases. I needed to fill them, as well the trophy cases I kept at the Citadel and in my scout vessel.

However while slaying demons was a worthy past time, in truth it wasn't the main reason as to why I was here. Xander Harris had requested that I go to his home universe in order to check up on his friends. For some reason he didn't want to go himself, and I didn't question him on the matter.

However I was pretty sure that this was the wrong version of his reality. For starters the year was wrong, and Sunnydale still existed. Still While this dimension wasn't the right one I was still going to check it out Sunnydale. There were plenty of demons there for me to hunt at night, and during the day I could check out the sights.

(Line Break)

 **Sunnydale. Buffy Verse.**

A day after leaving LA I found myself prowling through one of Sunnydale's graveyards at night, dressed in full armour and armed to the teeth. Which was the best way to be when go you outdoors at night in this town.

The first three vamps I saw never had a chance to do anything other than scream. I killed them from meters away with the plasma caster, and while I'd not encountered any demons so far the night was still young, and I knew that my weapons would taste blood.

I heard something strange as I wandered around near the edge of the town, it sounded like some sort of energy weapon being fired. Moving quickly I went to check out the source of the noise and when I reached a clearing within the trees I located several people, and more not people.

There were a dozen young men in military gear, and they were brawling with a group of vampires, neither side really seemed to winning, the army types couldn't use their funky looking rifles at close range, and the lads were too skilled at hand to hand to let the vampires bite them. Still it would only be a matter of time before the soldier boys were worn down and killed.

I could just blast the vampires, but the humans were mixed in close, and I didn't want to kill them, however I did not want to save them either so I decided to watch. That was when some part of me that contained a shred of human decency was urging me to enter the fight and aid my fellow humans.

Plus I hadn't had a good fight since I'd gotten to this world, and Yautja side of me was eager for battle. So I ended up de-cloaking, and jumping into the fray in an effort to save them.

(Line Break)

 **Sunnydale. Buffy Verse.**

Buffy Summer, slayer and college student was doing the same thing she did every night, trying to save the world. Okay so most nights she wasn't actually saving the world, just some of the people who lived in it, but it was her destiny to go out and hunt the monsters.

Of course there was always the possibility that she'd run into her boyfriend on a patrol such as this, which would be pleasant, and then she'd have a chance to embrasses him in front of his friends. Which could be fun.

As it turned out Buffy did run into Riley and his friends, and she saw a strange armoured figure with a spear close by. The Slayer drew a conclusion that made sense given the limited facts she had, but she totally misunderstood the situation as she thought the armoured figure was attacking the commandos when he had in fact just been saving them.

"Hey you!" Buffy shouted,

She jumped up and nailed him in the chest with a flying kick.

"I'll teach you to mess with my boyfriend!"

Right now Buffy had a 'kill first, and don't bother with questions' look on her face as she swung a blow at the armoured figure, who to her surprise blocked the block with strength that might just match her own. As she tried to rain down more blows she found the the armoured figure was not as fast as her, but he, assuming it was a he, was able to withstand the attacks.

This looked to be a battle that could go on for some time, so it was a surprise to Buffy when the armoured figured turned and ran away while turning invisible. Which even for the Slayer was very odd indeed.

(Line Break)

 **Woods. Sunnydale.**

Only when I was sure that the blond menace wasn't chasing me did I de-cloak and let myself rest against a large tree. I was out of breath and my chest hurt from were she had kicked me, the armour was damaged it was just the sheer force of the blow. I didn't think anything was broke, and I healed fast so the injury didn't worry me too much.

I chided myself for having run away from a fight with a girl, but then reminded myself that the girl had been a mystically empowered demon hunter, but I'd had other choice. I couldn't have killed Buffy Summers, and not just because she was physically tough, it was because she was the only thing keeping a lid on the Hellmouth, without here all hell would literally break loose.

However by the rules Yautja hunters lived by I should have battled her to the death rather than fun away. I was hating myself right now. This was yet another stain on my honour, and I couldn't wash it away as simply as I had done before.

At this point I decided that I would have to hand over one of my weapons as a trophy, to the Slayer, as at least that way I'd still be acting somewhat like a warrior. First things first I needed to deal with whatever creature it was that happened to be trying to sneak up on me.

(Line Break)

 **Apartment. Sunnydale.**

"Giles!" Buffy screamed as she helped Riley through the door.

The blond commando had seen better days. He looked as if he'd gone three rounds with a boxer, and hadn't won. While most his men hadn't been much better off they'd returned to base while Buffy had brought her boyfriend to the Watcher's place.

"Good Lord." Giles said as he came into the living room, "What happened to you?".

Buffy helped Riley onto the couch before she turned to speak with her Watcher.

"Some big nasty demony thing hit him with a metal stick" she reported.

That wasn't the truth. The armoured demon had attacked the vampires not the commandos.

"Actually Buffy..." Riley tried to say.

The Slayer wasn't listening.

"We need to hit the books, Giles." Buffy said, "This thing could turn invisible or something, and wore armour, and had weapons. A sort of spear, he had a sword on his belt too, and I think he carried a kind of gun. I've never seen a demon so well armed".

Now that was something to go on and Giles was sure that the answer could be found in his extensive collection of books, he couldn't recall exactly, but it felt a little familiar.

"Well we best get cracking then" the Watcher said.

Giles waved them over to a large stack of book

"I'll put on some tea and get the first aid kit" the Watcher said.

He'd barely left the room before a loud noise was made.

"Found him!" Buffy yelled out victoriously.

"What!?" Giles asked.

The Watcher rushed into the living room.

"You found the demon?" he asked "Already?".

Buffy moved the large book so that the two men could see the picture.

"Yeah, right here" she then said "He's got a strange name, you suppose he yells 'yeouch' a lot or something?".

Giles saw the the demons were actually called Yautja.

"I doubt it, Buffy," Riley said with a small grin.

Buffy was thinking about how she could make the demon go yeouch, and how she could make him yell out other things that indicated pain.

"Let me see that," the Watcher requested.

Giles slid the book over to himself and looked through it.

"Hmmm... yes. Hmmmm... oh dear" he said to himself.

Buffy was now becoming concerned, well more concerned.

"What? It's bad right? I know it's bad" she said.

Giles looked up in slight confusion, he'd become so engrossed that for a moment he'd forgotten that he wasn't sitting here all alone.

"No" he said "Not for us at any rate, not if we handle this right"

"Huh?" Buffy asked.

Giles began to patiently explain.

"The Yautja are, for lack of a better term, 'Big Game Hunters'" Giles explained "Slayers have encountered them before, none survived the encounters".

Giles read some more, and he believed that Buffy was lucky to be alive after encountering the creature. It could turn invisible, it wore armour, used an array of weapons, and it could some sort of fire ball spell. It was known for going after other demons, and sometimes humans. Slayers had battled the demon, and none had return from the battle. This information and more Giles relaid to Buffy and her boyfriend.

"However this hunter doesn't attack civilians" the Watcher went on to say "It won't attack unarmed humans, but it will stalk demons. So if stay out of its way we should all be fine".

If only things were that simple.

"Walsh won't go for that" Riley was now saying "She'll order my men to bring this creature down so we can bring him back for study".

Giles would not advised that.

"What!? Why?" the Slayer asked.

"He IS an HST, Buffy" Riley reminded his girlfriend "and I have my orders".

So there only hope was the hunter would leave town quickly.

"You're quite lucky to be alive," Giles said as he looked up again from the book, "A Yautja generally kills any and all armed persons they encounter, and will fight to the death anyone who challenges them".

"You mean THAT was a peaceful one?" Riley asked in shock.

"Put simply? Yes" Giles stated.

The Watcher was now wondering why this Yautja hadn't battled Buffy to the death if they'd meet. It was odd behaviour.

"How do we kill it?" Buffy asked.

Giles looked back at the book and paled.

"We.. Uh... don't" he said,

"What?" Both Riley and Buffy asked.

The Watcher cleared his throat.

"The text's mention one time that a Yautja is thought to have been killed" Giles said next "The entire area was destroyed. No one survived".

"An explosion?" Riley asked.

That seemed likely, and it must have been a big one.

"Apparently these creatures object strenuously to being killed" Giles said dryly "On the plus side these Yautja demons don't tend to stick around for a long, he'll be gone in a few days at the most. Again I strongly advise staying out of his way".

Before anyone else could comment the doorbell rang, and Buffy, who never even knocked, was surprised that Giles had a doorbell. When she went to open the door she found that no one was there, she looked around and when she looked down she saw what she would later come to think of as her very cool stabby thing. Otherwise known as a combi-stick.

(Line Break)

 **College Campus. Sunnydale.**

Because of the night time hunting I'd spent most of the day sleeping soundly on my cloaked ship that was hidden in the dense woodland out of Sunnydale, and now that it was evening I'd gone out in civilian clothing to do a little scouting around.

I didn't intend to stay much longer as it the commandos would be looking for me, and the Slayer was too, but I wanted to stay another night because I enjoyed getting to explore places such as this.

By now it was starting to get dark so I decided to head back to the ship, so that I could suit up, and the ship wasn't far from here as the college was at the edge of town. However before I could travel very far I came across the sight of Willow Rosenberg, Buffy Summer's Wiccan gal pal, and she looked as if something was chasing her.

That something turned out to be a vampire, which I thought was odd as the sun hadn't disappeared below the horizon just yet. I could only assume that it took direct sunlight to fry a vampire, but I didn't dwell on that for long as I'd decided to go save the witch.

While I wasn't the heroic type. I was sure that Willow was necessary to prevent the world from ending at some point in this time line, and therefore I should not allow her to die. With that in mind I sprang into action, while taking out of my coat pocket a stake, another thing you should always carry in Sunnydale, I ran towards the vampire.

Before the undead thing could do more than throw Willow to the ground I was going in for the kill. I drove the stake into the creatures heart, and it exploded into dust.

"Oh Buffy, thank..." the red head started to say.

Clearly she'd mistakenly believed that the Slayer had come to her aid. And when she realised her mistake she began stuttering so I decided to introduce myself.

"Hi" I greeted "My name is Gothic".

She introduced herself in turn, and then asked if there was anyway she could thank me. I suggested sex, and we ended up going on our separate ways as she wasn't at all supportive of that idea. I decided to leave this town and look for greener pastures to hunt it.

This dimension had been a big let down to me. I was going to leave and never come back. Other people could look for Harris's reality of origin.


	28. Chapter 28

**Predator Gothic - Part 28**

 **Barren Moon. Delta Quadrant.**

"You guys ready?" asked Tom Paris.

The pilot had brought the Delta Flyer to this barren moon storm ravaged moon because Voyager's sensors had detected faint energy readings that indicated the presence of advanced technology. Later scans, taken when the ship was in orbit of the moon, showed that the energy source was in fact coming from a crashed ship.

Seven of Nine, who had least some of the collective knowledge of the Borg, had told the bridge crew that the ship was not one she knew about, and since it was clearly a small scout vessel, which had crashed, the captain had decided to send a team down to study the craft, and perhaps salvage materials from it if the craft had truly been abandoned.

The moon was habitable, if somewhat barren, suggesting that someone had attempted to terraform the moon in times past, however clearly the attempt had gone wrong as the moon experienced intense storms which made beaming down impossible. Also it was worth risking Voyager for a landing just for the chance to explore a small crashed ship.

So Tom Paris, Harry Kim, and two non-senior officers had been sent in the Delta Flyer to explore the crashed ship, and to see if any materials could be salvaged. The storms in the upper atmosphere didn't affect the surface too badly. It was cold, windy and the dust would no doubt get everywhere, but the environment wouldn't do them any harm as long as they limited their time here.

"All right, let's head out" Tom Paris said as they headed out of the flyer.

Each of the four humanoids grabbed a tricorder and a hand held phaser before their boots touched the surface of the barren moon.

"It's hard to narrow down these readings, we might have trouble finding the ship" Tom said as he examined the readouts on his instrument.

The most senior of the officers were now considering something.

"Fan out or stick together?" Tom wondered.

"Stick together." Harry said nervously. "This place gives me the creeps."

"I say fan out" said Ensign Golwat

She was a female Bolian Starfleet officer

"I agree" stated Crewman Hamilton, a human male "Better chance of finding the ship that way".

Tom turned to Harry and smiled.

"Sorry Harry" he said looks like you're outnumbered.

Ensign Kim had the feelings that things were going to go horribly wrong on this mission, and that it would somehow be all his fault.

"Harry you're with me" decided Tom Paris "Golwat you go with Hamilton and contact us if you find the ship".

With that the group split into two and went their separate ways.

(Line Break)

 **Barren Moon. Delta Quadrant.**

After landing my scout ship on a moon that somehow had a breathable atmosphere despite looking like a barren wasteland, I readied myself for my latest mission. I'd entered the galaxy of Star Trek, intending to scout suitable hunting ground and technology that could be traded for or simply taken. Advanced tech was always worth something on the Citadel, and could be useful for trading elsewhere.

To my surprise my scout ship, which like my first personal craft had been modified for human use, picked up a signal from a crash Yautja vessel. I figured that his must be one of the universe the Yautja clans had scouted out before they became diverted by their civil war, which for all I knew was still going on.

My sensors had detected no life signs on this moon, but given the storms in the upper atmosphere I wasn't going to take any chances. To that end I was wearing full armour, as for weapons I carried my sword, my combi-stick, my ceremonial dagger, a plasma pistol, and a pulse rifle. As well as couple of grenades.

I was also carrying my backpack in case there was anything from the ship that I wanted to salvage. Not all Yautja clans used the same weapons so might be items of interest on board the scout craft. I also wanted to check the ships logs so I could find out what it was doing here. Then I would set the vessel's self destruct so as to prevent Yautja technology from falling into the hands of unworthy of it, as I had been trained to.

"Follow me, girl" I said to Lupa.

I'd not taking her hunting with me on the Fallout world as Lupa liked to eat what she killed, when in her wolf form, and in the world of Fallout every was contaminated and she didn't even wear armour.

Soon I stepped out of the ship, activated my cloak, which didn't prevent Lupa from knowing were I was since she could smell and hear me, and then I headed towards the crashed ship.

(Line Break)

 **Barren Moon. Delta Quadrant.**

"Wait, where are Golwat and Hamilton?" Paris wondered.

Golwat and Hamilton had been the people to find the ship, and had the others so that they could join them. Only they should have been waiting for their fellow officers.

"Kim to Flores, where are you two?" Kim asked after tapping his comm device.

Silence responded.

"Kim to Hamilton!" Paris called out.

Tom frowned when the same silence greeted him.

"Kim to Voyager, can you locate Golwat and Hamilton" Harry requested.

"Lost them already Harry?" Captain Janeway asked jokingly.

She had no idea how serious matters here were.

"They're not responding" Harry said "I know the storm is blocking our transporters, but can you scan for them?".

There was no need, by this time Tom had found them. Both of the Starfleet officers had some sort of alien life form wrapped around their faces

"They aren't moving" Tom said after he'd called Harry over "Let's back to the Flyer, on the double".

(Line Break)

 **Barren Moon. Delta Quadrant.**

I watched the two humans carrying their crew mate out of the ship and when I did I knew that there was no chance of me going on board the scout ship. It must have been carrying xenomorphs eggs, for some reason, and as soon the Starfleet officers were out of the way, and I'd was part of the way back to my vessel, I used my wrist device to command the scout ship to self destruct.

The explosion was massive, but I didn't even turn to look at the remains of the destroyed ship. I was running towards mine just in case there were any of those facehuggers around. I could only hope that they're were not as the xenomorphs would run rampant in this galaxy as this universe was, for the most part, populated by a bunch of wusses when compared to some of the dimensions I'd been to.

With that in mind I figured out that it might be best to contact the Federation ship that was in orbit and warn them of the danger.

"Come on, Lupa" I said to the magical wolf.

I powered up the ship and began flying into orbit while decloaking so that the Starfleet ship could see me.

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. Voyager.**

"What are they?" Harry asked.

He was referring to the facehuggers which had lived up their namesake by wrapping themselves around the faces of two of Voyagers crewmen.

"Some sort of parasite" The Doctor said. "And they are very deadly if you try and cut them off".

He pointed to a melted hole in the floor.

"They have some sort of molecular acid for blood" he explained "the perfect defense"

"Are they eating them?" Harry asked.

He had a very worried look on his face.

"No, that's just it; they seem to be keeping their victims alive" The Doctor said with more than a hint of confusion.

"Why?" Harry asked.

He hadn't a clue.

"Doctor, can you get these creatures off of them?" Janeway asked.

"With the transporter I might be able to, but I'll need some time to prepare. I don't want to risk beaming away part of anyone's skull" The Doctor said.

"Need any help?" Harry asked.

The Doctor considered this.

"Just tell me what to do Doc" Harry said.

The hologram decided that he could use some aid.

"If my plan to beam these parasites works them we'll isolate the creatures in a containment field" said Doctor "You can set that up".

That was when someone called over the comm.

"Captain we're being hailed by an unknown vessel".

Janeway didn't like the sound of that, two of her crew were injured, and now an alien vessel was in the area, perhaps they were connected, and not in a good way.

(Line Break)

 **Scout Ship. Delta Quadrant.**

"You should kill them" I advised the captain of USS Voyager "Vaporise the bodies now, and you'll save the rest of your crew".

I didn't think she'd listen, but that was my honest opinion, and since we'd already done the whole introduction thing it was time to get on with matters.

"No" Janeway said firmly "I will not kill them".

Not a surprising reply.

"They're hosts" I went on to say "A very dangerous organism is growing inside your crewmen, they will kill the hosts when they are born, and then find a place to hide while it rapidly grows, once they creatures are grown they start killing your crew. One of them might be a queen, and only the gods can help if you a Hive starts forming on your ship".

If my ship actually had weapons I'd be tempted to blast Voyager myself.

"Then we'll remove the embryos." Janeway said defiantly "With the transporter".

That might not work.

"Be careful, the xenomorphs, that's the name of the creatures, incorporates DNA from the host" I warned "You might not be able to tell the difference between the creature and say an internal organ".

Of course that might be an issue given how advanced Federation medical technology was.

"Is there anyway that these creatures can be born without harming the host" the first officer asked.

The question amused me.

"They're born by ripping through the host's ribcage. Then they grow, and they grow fast, soon they will start hunting, but not to eat, they kill everything they can find, and use those they spare as hosts for their young, which is not a mercy" I said the officers of the Starfleet ship "If you value your lives you should destroy them now. But if they do get out, call me. I might be able to stop them".

After saying that I closed the channel, and the small 2D screen I'd been using went blank.

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. Voyager.**

"I have to admit, separating the embryo from the host is proving far more difficult than I had presumed" said the hologram.

Janeway had come down to sickbay for a status update, and things were looking good.

"You lost one of them?" she asked.

Thankfully this wasn't the case.

"No, we almost lost Hamilton though." The Doctor said, while gesturing at the recovering crewmen "The creature caused some damage as it was beamed out, and expire shortly after I removed it. The creature was at a stage were it couldn't survive with its host".

The hologram then led the human woman over to where a female Bolian Starfleet officer was laying down.

"I was able to beam away the creature that wrapped itself around their faces, and both of these face grabbers expired when I did" reported the doctor "But the embryo inside is proving harder to remove from Crewmen Golwat. Her Bolian biology is reacting differently to the creature. I've kept her in a coma while I explore other options. I may need to go in surgically".

He was about to speak on this further when Golwat began to have what seemed to be some sort of seizure. Janeway held the blue skinned woman down as the Doctor administered another hypospray, intending to more heavily sedate Golwat. As it turned out it wasn't the Bolian woman who was causing this.

An alien creature soon ripped itself out of Golwat's chest, killing her very quickly, and because she was knocked out she never even felt it happen, the event more shocking for the two witnesses. Who both took steps back in sheer shock

The Doctor was stunned by the sheer destruction the tiny creature caused in mere seconds, but he acted quickly.

"Computer place a force field..."

Without hesitation the creature made its escape. Disappearing from sight before the force field could be raised.

"I'm going to have a talk with our new friend" Janeway decided, not letting the horror of what she'd seen slow her down too much "He seems to know a lot about these creatures, and if it is a danger the crew, and I believe that, then we'll do what we have to keep the ship safe".

With that she headed for the door.

(Line Break)

 **Scout Ship. Delta Quadrant.**

They called as I knew they would, and I was already flying my scout ship into Voyager's docking bay. Before agreeing to come on board I'd sent a message to my clan ship, which was currently under the command of Alice, as the rest of us were scouting this galaxy as best we could. Hopefully the mother ship would be here soon as if things got any more out of hand I might need the extra hunters.

Also I might them to destroy Voyager, rather than let it risk being turned into a xenomorph hive, that simply wouldn't do. It was highly unlikely that the hard meat would be able to set a course for a habitable planet, they weren't that smart.

However should the escaped creature mutate into a queen and start laying eggs, then it was only a matter of time before the crew would be slaughtered, and assuming the self destruct wasn't used, then someone in this part of the galaxy found the ship sometime in the future and the xenomorphs could spread.

(Line Break)

 **Corridor. Voyager.**

"It has been contained." Seven said.

Seven was busy watching the small creature inside the force field jump and scream like a cornered beast. Then the doors slid open and Tuvok and a security team came rushing in. The team centered their phasers on the creature and prepared to fire.

Soon they were joined by the captain as well as the oddest human Seven of Nine had ever seen. He was a man with hair that was kept in dreadlocks, and he wore armour of an unknown kind. He was clearly a warrior of some kind, and the former drone had never seen any human like him. It wasn't just his appearance, it was the way he walked, and he also armed to the teeth.

The man clearly had access to advanced technology, Seven quickly noted the computer like device on his wrist, and the mask on his face which seemed to be high tech as well. This was contrasted greatly by the claws, teeth, and small horns he wore as decorations. Yet Seven couldn't help feeling intrigued by this person.

"Drop the field" Janeway ordered.

The man took out a metal rod and expanded it into a spear of some sort.

"Captain?" Seven asked.

To be fair it did sound like a crazy command.

"Do it, he knows how to kill these things." Janeway said

While concerned Seven did as she was told.

"I am dropping the field" she declared.

The moment the field dropped the armoured man leapt into battle ramming his spear into the dangerous alien form, which was like nothing Seven of Nine had ever seen before. The fight was short, but fierce, the human won, but not before the alien was able to destroy the mask he'd been wearing.

As soon as it was over the strange man was taken to sickbay, he wasn't badly injured and as he walked away, mostly under his own power, he requested the creature's head for some unknown reason.

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. Voyager.**

"Let the wound scar" I told the EMH as he fussed over me "But if you could remove the clan mark I'd be grateful".

I wanted the wound the xenomorph had give me to scar so that every time I looked in the mirror I would be remained that my desire for trophies should not overwhelm my common sense. I should have used a phaser to vaporise the xenomorph and be done with it. It was a struggle for me to use my common sense, and to forget, at least for a time all my Yautja training. Perhaps something of that race's desire for honourable combat was genetic and had become a part of me when they'd used the transfusions.

"Thanks to you the creature is dead" said Janeway "Its blood is eating through the decking, but thankfully only part way to the deck below, so we can repair it".

I hadn't been sure if the metals these people used would be resistant to xenomorph blood or not. By the sounds of things it wasn't, but the damage had been limited.

"And your ship is here" Janeway said next.

Ah that was good news.

"You know it might be possible for my ship to tow you to Earth" I told Janeway "At top speed my vessel could make it to Earth in just a few hours".

Me saying that resulted in her asking what I was sure wasn't going to the first of many questions. I wasn't actually sure if my clan ship could tow Voyager, but even if we couldn't, the mother ship was more than large enough to ferry the crew to Earth, but that would mean leaving Voyager behind. They might not be willing to do that. I'd just have to wait and see.

(Line Break)

 **Sol System. Alpha Quadrant.**

There had been a lot of fussing about in order to get Voyager home. My ship lacked a tractor beam, which was something I'd need to fix, so Voyager had needed to attach itself to my vessel like a child getting a piggyback. Then in order to prevent Voyager from being ripped to pieces during the trip, my ship had needed to project a subspace field around both ships.

Setting all that up had involved having a lot of Starfleet engineers messing with my clan ship, and had they been any other group I'd have been worried about possible sabotage, or espionage, as it was I felt certain that they'd only poked around so much out of simply curiosity.

Now that Voyager had disconnected itself from the clan ship we were free to leave. I was that Starfleet command would have paid me more attention if I hadn't returned with Voyager, and also because the Dominion war was still going the Starfleet admirals had more than enough to worry themselves about.

Which left my group free to wander around this quadrant as we pleased, and the fact that there was a war going on meant there would be ample chances for trophy taking and looting in Cardassian space. When on the ground we'd have to be careful because of the Jem'hadar, and they could detect cloaked ships, but in space there was nothing in the Dominion fleet that could chase my clan ship when we left an area.

Judging by the news we'd picked up the war was nearing its close. This pleased me as it mean that the Founders had lost their shape shifting abilities by this point, so I didn't have to worry about them infiltrating my ship. They weren't my concern anyway as they had no body parts to make trophies from.

I'd wondered if someone like Q might turn up and demand that we leave the galaxy. However they'd not and it wasn't as they'd done anything about Species 8472 invading, and compared to that a few hunters flying about wouldn't be much of a concern.

"Set course for Deep Space Nine" I ordered.

We'd gotten Voyager's star charts while preparing to bring them home so we could navigate Federation space.

"We'll dock at the station to trade for some tech and R&R, then head into hostile space for some hunting" I told the crew.

It should be fun.


End file.
